


mx brightside

by az49



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 38,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28612485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/az49/pseuds/az49
Summary: Jisoo, the friendly, ever-so-charming nerd strikes up a polite conversation with Lisa, the outgoing, binge-drinking, (nearly there) drop-out. An idiots-to-lovers trope (maybe) with everything, Rosé and Jennie included, in between.
Relationships: Kim Jisoo/Lalisa Manoban | Lisa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Hana

**Author's Note:**

> nothing new, just a cross-post from [AFF](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1413450/tepi) but with some spell checks and merged chapters. 
> 
> if you havent read the one on AFF, read this one :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet. It's casual. Sometimes it's soul-baring. It's okay.

It was nearing seven in the evening, yet Kim Jisoo, a first-year science major, was still roaming the corridors of the Sciences Building with her laptop in one hand and her now-warm chocolate drink in the other. She was clad in the usual science-major attire: a shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Maybe if she were in a different college, College of Arts or College of Business, she'd dress up more– but being stuck with people who couldn't really care less about what they wore (or more like, had no time to dress up, with all the seven AM classes and nine PM laboratories) had an impact on her fashion sense (whatever you call it). 

As Jisoo entered the main hall, she could see the legs of the table she was looking for. She needed to sit down and finish the damned report before midnight and her legs were still numb from sitting on the floor. When Jisoo drew in closer to the table, she realized that a pair of lanky legs were dangling off the edge of the table. 

The owner of the lanky legs had waist-long blonde hair with carefully combed bangs, sported a sweatshirt, ripped jeans, and all-stars riddled with mud. Her face was covered by her forearm, shielding her eyes from the fluorescent light right above her. The other arm was stretched out on the table, much like a starfish. The blonde heard footsteps approaching and moved her arm so she could see who it was. 

They made eye contact, and Jisoo offered her a shy smile. "Hi, I, uh, need to use the table. Can I use the table?" Jisoo asked once she was in earshot, almost in a whisper. 

The blonde offered an apology in response but instead of hopping off the table, she scooted closer to the wall and withdrew her outstretched hand, giving Jisoo enough space to place her laptop on the table. 

The blonde stared at the ceiling while Jisoo settled down. Once Jisoo was starting up her laptop, the blonde initiated conversation. "Hi, I'm Lisa. You're a first year too, right?" She asked, with genuine interest in her voice. 

Jisoo's head perked up and appeared above the laptop, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah. I'm guessing you're a science major too? No non-science major would willingly hangout in this building."

Lisa stared for a second, surprised by how pretty Jisoo's smile was. "Yeah, barely" Lisa winced at the thought of her grades, but the term was coming to an end and there was little she could do to help her grades. 

Jisoo hummed in response– she didn't really know anything about Lisa to give an appropriate reply. Also, she still had a deadline to beat. As they sat there in silence, with Jisoo typing away and Lisa lost in her thoughts, another pair of footsteps approached. Jisoo was the first to spare the newcomer a glance. 

"Hey, Bambam. You have a report too?" Jisoo asked. Jisoo and Bambam shared a basic zoology laboratory class, the same class that Jisoo was making a report for.

"Oh, Bam hey. Did you get enough literature on the topic you wanted to talk about?" Lisa asked when she saw Bambam approaching.

"Hey Jisoo! Never knew you were buddies with my girl Lisa. No, I do not have a report due tonight for zoology lab; however," Bambam shifted his gaze towards Lisa "I do have a case report on Asian History. I got some good stuff for Mesopotamia but what civilization do you want to focus on?" Bambam sat on the table, near Lisa's legs and with just enough space from Jisoo, so Jisoo could continue to type comfortably without bumping his thighs. 

"Babylonian civilization? Always thought they were interesting. I've got some readings on them too. Do you wanna go over them now?" Lisa replied. _Asian history is one of the few subjects I haven't surely flunked, might as well give some effort to it,_ Lisa thought.

Bambam immediately hopped off the table and gave Lisa a wink. "Okay let's go with that, but not tonight. Let's do it tomorrow. I have something to check in the lab in about ten minutes. See ya, Lis. Bye, Jisoo!" Bambam's footsteps echoed along the corridor, eventually fading. 

"Babylonia's a good pick. Their form of government and their spirituality is really rich. There's always something to learn." Jisoo offered, scrunching her nose at her laptop. Lisa shifted her body so that she would be facing Jisoo, or the back of Jisoo's laptop, since her head was hidden behind it. 

"Yeah, I figured.” Lisa gave a light chuckle. “What's your report about, anyway?"

Jisoo was easy to talk to, Lisa figured. Jisoo asked light questions, without expecting a reply. She gave hints that she was paying attention without the stress of eye contact since she was busy with her report. It was comfortable, like they already had years of friendship between them when in reality, it was around an hour. _An hour! Ah, shit. It's almost 8'o'clock,_ Lisa widened her eyes at the realization. As if on cue, Lisa's phone rang. 

She didn't need to look at her phone to know who was calling. It was their nightly ritual, their evening phone calls. Lisa moved sluggishly, one ring passed, two rings, three rings. 

"Hi" Lisa whispered.

Jisoo, who was nearly done with her report raised her eyebrow at Lisa's voice. It wasn't the voice she was using with her nor with Bambam, it was something that sounded more... _tired_. Guessing that it might be a little too personal, Jisoo concentrated (more) on her report in an effort to cancel out Lisa's voice. Eavesdropping on a private conversation was something Jisoo would not do. 

The phone call took all of three minutes, with Lisa ending with an excuse that she was already tired and ready to sleep. Lisa was sure that Jisoo heard her, if not the entire conversation, then at the very least she heard the end part, but she was surprised that Jisoo did not comment on it. 

"I think I'm done?" Jisoo sighed with relief as she browsed through the 20-page document. Spacing, check; indentation, check; font size, check; justification, check.

"They say you're pretty smart. I like smart people." Lisa said, remembering some remarks from her professor about two Kims and their consistency in topping the exams. "How do you do it? Like, how do you get things done?" She asked. 

As Jisoo finished composing the email, she looked cheekily at Lisa and shrugged. "By doing them?" Jisoo chuckled and Lisa rolled her eyes but managed to grin after.

"Ha, ha. Tsk, I was being serious. Kinda. Congrats on finishing your report."

Jisoo packed her things, shoving her laptop into her backpack. Jisoo took her time in stretching, feeling the tension in her muscles slowly dissipate. She slung her backpack lazily and gave Lisa a small nod.

"I'm going to go first." Jisoo walked towards the exit while the back of her hand to Lisa. 

"Bye!" Lisa's high-pitched voice and sustained farewell echoed across the corridor.

As Lisa stretched her body on the table, she bumped her hand against an empty carton of chocolate milk. _Aigoo, this girl,_ Lisa thought (and grinned) as she held the carton in her hand, mentally noting to clean up the trash Jisoo left behind. Lisa relaxed as she sprawled over the table, feeling a sense of calm that evaded her for the past few weeks. 

_Well, that was nice._

* * *

"So, by now, I hope all of you understand and appreciate the importance of riverbanks in the establishment of civilizations. See you next meeting." The professor wrapped up the class, and one by one the students poured out of the classroom.

It was 4'o'clock in the afternoon, and the halls were abuzz with conversation as different classes ended at the same time. The corridors were middled with college students catching up, exchanging notes, and conversation. Jisoo made her way to the building's lobby, where she was greeted by the sight of her buddy, Kang Seulgi.

"Ugh, Jisoo, what took you so long? I thought you were following me when class ended but when I reached the lobby you were nowhere to be seen." Seulgi complained, and Jisoo couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're such a hag." Jisoo replied, sticking out her tongue. Seulgi made a face, and both ended up laughing.

Jisoo was always grateful for Seulgi, especially now that they were in college. They went to the same high school, but they weren’t really close back then. When college started, and Jisoo didn’t know anybody (the cons of going to a great college, but at the expense of not going where your friends are going), Seulgi immediately approached her, bunking on their familiarity from high school, and the two stuck together by default. 

"Jisoo! Seulgi! Hello!" an ever-enthusiastic blonde showed up, grinning at the pair.

It was Park Chaeyoung, another science major. Chaeyoung didn't share any class with either of the two, but there were less than fifty first-year science majors, so people knew each other– especially with Chaeyoung's bubbly personality.

"Hey, Chaeyoung. What's up?" Seulgi asked, pleasantly surprised at Chaeyoung's entrance. While Chaeyoung and Seulgi chatted away, Jisoo noticed another figure heading their way. The figure, stylishly clad in black, poked Chaeyoung from the back, catching Chaeyoung's attention.

"Jennie! Hey, I was waiting for you!" Chaeyoung got bubblier if that was possible. She gave Jennie a side-hug, and Jisoo could see Jennie relax into Chaeyoung's wrap.

Seulgi's phone rang, a ringtone distinctly from the early 2000s, and Jisoo eyes widened at the ringtone. Jisoo and Jennie's eyes met, both sharing a look of surprise, and eventually their surprise turned into laughter at the expense of Seulgi's ringtone. Seulgi's face turned sour when she saw the caller ID, hurriedly answering the call. 

"Sorry guys, it was my mother. She wants me to go with her to pay the bills." Seulgi's frustration could be heard in her voice and could be seen by the way her five bangs curled at her forehead. "Sorry Jisoo, raincheck on tonight's dinner?" Seulgi faced Jisoo, as apologetic as she could get.

"It's okay, Seul. Family first!" Jisoo said, knowing how much of a nagger Seulgi's mom could be.

Seulgi gave the three a last wave before making her way out of the building. Another wave of students entered the lobby, presumably with them just having ended their classes. 

"Jisoo, hey. Chaeng. Jen." A familiar voice greeted the three, and eventually ended in Seulgi's spot. It was Lisa, clad in another combination of sweater and jeans, with her chucks slightly cleaner from their previous encounter.

Jennie eyed Lisa, her backpack unzipped with her laptop sticking out and its power indicator still blinking. "I'm going to assume your ass is the reason why your class got dismissed late."

Lisa gave Jennie a big thumbs up, before letting out a deep sigh. "Well, at least it's over. Reporting, err, speaking in front of people isn't my forte."

Chaeyoung offered Lisa a comforting smile, before looking at the time.

"Ah, Jen, lab is going to start in twenty minutes, and I'm hungry." Chaeyoung said, looking at Jennie with pleading eyes.

"Mm, okay. Let's drop by the canteen before we go to the lab. Lis, you coming with?" Jennie responded, patting Chaeyoung's head. "You can come too, if you want to grab a bite." Jennie said to Jisoo. 

"I'll pass, but thanks for the offer. I'm going to go the mall." Jisoo said.

Lisa's eyes perked up at the mention of the mall. "Oh, let me go with you. I was going to go there too. Just let me drop off my laptop at the dormitory." Lisa said, zipping up her bag.

Jennie snickered at Lisa's reply while Chaeyoung gave Lisa an exasperated look.

"Lis? We share the same lab schedule." Chaeyoung reminded Lisa.

Lisa groaned in response, suddenly remembering her laboratory schedule.

The four exited the building together and parted at the bus stop, with Jisoo taking the bus heading to the mall. Jisoo thought of her batchmates, although they were few, she didn't really know them all. In between commuting to- and fro- school, being stuck in classes and labs, and studying, Jisoo didn't mind with socializing. Seulgi's friendship was enough, but Jisoo couldn't help but smile at the conversation between Chaeyoung, Jennie, and Lisa. It was enjoyable. Jisoo mused that the three were closer, considering they shared the same lab schedule, but they never made her feel left out during the conversation. 

—

Jisoo, Lisa noted, was absorbed in her own world. Currently, she was standing in the non-fiction area of a bookstore, reading the preface of a Orwell book. So, when a tap on her shoulder was insufficient to bring her out of her world, Lisa decided to hover over Jisoo's shoulder and read what was currently capturing the former's attention.

"What's this about?" Lisa's voice, apparently, was enough to bring Jisoo back to real time.

"Waaah!" Jisoo exclaimed in response, stumbling into Lisa in surprise.

Lisa laughed at Jisoo's reaction, offering half-baked apologies "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Jisoo playfully (semi-playfully, it actually hurt) punched Lisa in the arm, before giving her a smile. "Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you had lab?" Jisoo asked while smoothing out the book she was holding.

"Eh? It's already seven. Lab already ended." Lisa replied, cocking her head to the side. "You lost track of time, didn't you?" Lisa teased.

Jisoo grinned sheepishly. 

"So, what do you read?" Jisoo asked, roaming around the bookstore with Lisa.

"Alighieri and Hugo." Jisoo's eyes widened in surprise. "-is what I would say if I wanted to impress you, but classics are too heavy for my brain. I like Chuck Palahniuk." Lisa grabbed a book from the shelf, admiring the cover's artwork.

"Oh, I'm not familiar with Palahniuk." Jisoo said, standing beside Lisa.

"Mm, his books aren't really the same, but his writing is distinct." 

_She's something else_ , Lisa thought, admiring Jisoo's honesty on not knowing the author. From Lisa's experience, people always pretended to know something, afraid to admit that they didn't know anything but Jisoo was different. The two spent another thirty minutes roaming around the bookstore, occasionally picking up a book and discussing it before proceeding to another book.

"Dinner?" Lisa asked, when the two exited the bookstore. Jisoo eyes lit up in response, and Lisa felt herself warming up under Jisoo's gaze.

"Yes please! Can we get chicken?" Jisoo asked, with excitement in her voice. Lisa nodded in agreement, and Jisoo led the way to her favorite chicken chain. 

As they settled down at the table with the chicken in front of them, Jisoo clapped her hands in excitement which made Lisa laugh.

"You're a child." Lisa chuckled at Jisoo.

"It's chicken, Manoban. Chicken deserves to be appreciated." Jisoo took a bite and closed her eyes in happiness.

"A child." She could hear Lisa remark, but Jisoo didn't mind her companion.

"Oh shit, it's really good!" Lisa exclaimed. Jisoo nodded her head in agreement, too busy eating to give a proper reply. 

While finishing her dinner, Jisoo noticed Lisa scrunching her face at her phone. "Something wrong?" Jisoo asked. Lisa looked up from her phone to face Jisoo.

"I need to book a flight home tonight but commuting to the ticketing office would take around an hour in tonight's traffic." Lisa pouted.

Not really thinking, Jisoo offered that they'd walk to the ticketing office. "Let's walk then. It'll be faster."

Jisoo realized two things as she offered. One, Lisa never asked her to go with her, and two, Jisoo wasn't a fan of walking long distances. If Lisa got surprised by Jisoo's assumption that they'd go together, she didn't show it.

"Are you sure you're up to it? Maybe your feet will hurt from walking." Lisa offered Jisoo a chance out, but Jisoo was adamant.

"Let's go?" Jisoo stood up, smirking at Lisa.

"Okay, you're something else." Lisa's earlier thoughts managed to get spoken, and Jisoo chuckled at Lisa's statement. 

The two made their way to the ticketing office, with the occasional conversation in between dodging street vendors, strangers along the sidewalks, and motorcycles speeding through the car-packed roads.

"So why do we need to go to the ticketing office, anyway? Don't they sell tickets online?" Jisoo huffed, a slight pant in her voice.

"Dad doesn't want me buying them online." Lisa shrugged, "Plus it's sorta my thing? Going to ticketing office for tickets, not doing it online, if it makes sense." She added.

Jisoo replied with a hum while evading an orange that fell from the street vendor's cart.

Eventually, the traffic started to ease, and they could see the cars moving freely.

"Hey, do you want to commute? The traffic's not that bad now." Lisa offered, slightly guilty that she made Jisoo walk with her.

"Nah, we're already nearby. I mean, it's okay if we don't commute, but if you want to commute, that's okay too." Jisoo replied.

"Anybody told you that you're stubborn?" Lisa teased. Jisoo stuck her tongue out, walking by Lisa's side.

Lisa's phone started to ring, and Lisa smiled at the call.

_Looks like somebody's in a better mood for a call_ , Jisoo thought. 

"Hi, I'm walking right now." Lisa answered. "Did you get home safely? What about dinner?" 

_Ah, shit, it's like I'm eavesdropping on their conversation_ , Jisoo mentally slapped herself. Although, she rationalized, it was impossible _not_ to hear Lisa since they were walking side by side.

"I'm good! I'm with Jisoo, she's a science major too." 

_Oh my god_ , Jisoo started to get flustered by hearing her name being mentioned. She hastened her paceto put a distance between them– in hopes that she wouldn't be able to hear the conversation.

Preoccupied (or trying to get preoccupied) by walking, Jisoo felt Lisa shoulder-bump into her.

"Sorry about that, we kinda talk every night." Lisa started.

"You don't have to apologize, I tried not to eavesdrop." Jisoo replied.

"You're too nice. It's okay, you don't have to go away the next time he calls." Lisa said, pinching Jisoo's cheeks.

"Yah, don't pinch my cheeks!" Jisoo swatted Lisa's hands away, while smiling at her.

"Look, we're here!" Lisa stopped, catching her breath, from walking or from Jisoo's smile, she wasn't sure. 

"You know, the school year's ending but this is the first time someone accompanied me while buying a ticket home." Lisa said, as she sat down next to Jisoo, waiting for her turn at the counter.

"Is it a bad thing, that I went with you?" Jisoo asked, wincing at the thought that she assumed Lisa wanted her here. The two were so in sync that Jisoo momentarily forgot that they were just new acquaintances.

"No, no, no. I like your company." Lisa immediately said, giving Jisoo two thumbs-up and a wide grin.

"Number sixty-one! Number sixty-one at counter two please." the speaker echoed.

Lisa stood-up, "Let's go?" she asked Jisoo with a smirk. Jisoo smirked back in response and went with Lisa to the counter. 

"Thailand, huh. That's pretty far. Like another country-far." Jisoo said, with a hint of teasing at the end as Lisa stuffed her ticket into her bag.

"Heh. Dad wanted me to enroll here." Lisa scoffed at Jisoo "Education!" Lisa said, with her arms making rainbow, mimicking the Spongebob meme which made Jisoo snort. "So, yes, I'm from Thailand, how about you?" Lisa asked.

"I am from the south part of the city." Jisoo deadpanned, making Lisa laugh.

"Okay, let me take you to the bus stop then" Lisa offered.

"Thank you, again, for accompanying me. You didn't have to, you know?" Lisa said, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's okay, I had time to kill." Jisoo shoved the thoughts of her assignments to the back of her mind. The sounds of a bus approaching could be heard, and true enough, the two could see the headlights of a bus coming over.

"Take care, text me when you get home?" Lisa asked, and Jisoo smiled in response.

"I don't have your number, dummy. You take care on your way home too."

The bus arrived and Jisoo waved goodbye to Lisa.

"Hey, give me your number!" Lisa shouted at Jisoo, who was now inside the bus. Jisoo heard Lisa, and as she sat down by the window, waved at Lisa with a smile. 

* * *

"You know, for science majors, we sure have a lot of minors." Seulgi complained as she and Jisoo made their way to the College of Communication for their class on basics of writing.

"Eh, it's somewhere along the lines of holistic education, the dean said something about it during the orientation." Jisoo replied, not really focusing on the conversation. She was preoccupied with the thought of her essay, neatly written (and re-written about three times before she was satisfied) and folded in her knapsack. _Communications professors are kinda whack_ , Jisoo mused. The broadness of their assignment contributed more to her headache compared to the two cups of coffee (and Jisoo doesn't do coffee) she had last night. 

They settled in their seats, at the fourth row from the front, with Seulgi at her left and the air conditioning unit (and wall) at her right. Jisoo was put out of her reverie when she felt somebody kick her chair from behind. Putting on a scowl, she turned to glare at her attacker. Her attacker greeted her with a big smile, eyes glinting with mischief. It took all of two seconds for Jisoo of the attacker's smile to make Jisoo forget why she was scowling in the first place.

"Ah, Lisa! What's up?" Seulgi, who, upon noticing Jisoo's sudden movement, also took a turn, greeted Lisa in recognition. It was Seulgi's voice that snapped the pair from their unconscious smile-slash-staring contest.

"Why're you here?" Jisoo asked, recovering from Lisa's smile.

Both Lisa and Seulgi shot Jisoo a pointed look, but it was Seulgi who spoke first.

"Really, Jisoo. I know you're kinda focused, but Lisa's our classmate, has been, for the entire semester. She literally sits behind you every time." Jisoo's eyes widened in disbelief. 

"Okay, to be fair, I didn't know your name prior to our hallway encounter but I did know that we shared a class together." Lisa quipped, holding up her hands dramatically. 

Before Jisoo could overcome her chagrin, the professor stepped in and started the class. 

Lisa's groans were drowned out by Jisoo and Seulgi's laughter as Chaeyoung enthusiastically recounted the time Lisa got jumped on by a frog, with Jennie adding sound effects to Chaeyoung's story. On how the five girls gathered in a kiosk along the school grounds was some twist of fate but in between Lisa's groans and fake pouts, she couldn't deny the lightness she could feel, hearing her friends laugh. Seulgi was the first to part, excusing herself because she had another class to attend. The girls shifted (thankfully) to another topic other than Lisa's embarrassing stories when Lisa felt her phone vibrate. 

[fr Babe; 2:30PM] _Hi babe! How are your classes? The boys are going to get together to play a round of basketball._

[to Babe; 2:30PM] _Hi, classes just ended, I'm with the girls at a kiosk waiting for the next class to start. Tell the boys I said hi! Enjoy your game._

Lisa didn't even think, she replied mechanically, almost like a programmed response. It was all too familiar, routine, and– she stopped her train of thought, not liking where it was going. 

_That's a problem for future Lisa_.

Lisa felt eyes on her and when she looked up from her phone, she caught Jisoo look at her. "Are you okay?" Jisoo mouthed at her, and Lisa gave her a thumbs up coupled with a cheeky smile in response. 

"Ah Lisa my dude, my girl, my homie!" A boy's voice boomed from the nearest building. 

"Is that guy drunk? At this hour?" Jennie's shock echoed all the sentiments of the girls in the kiosk.

"It's nine in the evening somewhere." Lisa shrugged, smiling at the guy who called her. Recognizing him as a fellow dormer, Lisa waved. "Yo wassup wassup!" Lisa shouted. Lisa excused herself from the three girls and went to her dorm mate with a certain skip to her step. 

"The dormers are hard drinkers." Jennie explained, seeing Jisoo's eyebrows all furrowed. 

"Oh, I've never drank." Jisoo casually said, causing Chaeyoung and Jennie to share a look and Jisoo could tell she didn't like where the conversation was heading to. 

—

"Ahh Lis, I was starting to think that you went AWOL!" Kwon, Lisa's senior by seven years (give or take, but more likely give), exclaimed as he passed Lisa a cold bottle of beer. Kwon was a _god_ , a term labelling the students well over the maximum period of residency in the university– Kwon kept failing (and shifting) his programs. 

"The term's nearing its end and I remembered I have a scholarship to maintain." Lisa shrugged, thankful for the drink that seemed to ease her worries. 

"Let's not talk about sad shit!" Bambam interjected, draping an arm over Lisa and another over Kwon.

The group of dormers were on their rooftop, a sort of blind spot in the campus, hidden by trees. That meant that they couldn't see anyone walking down the street but what mattered was that they couldn't be seen either, and as far as the students' handbook was concerned, alcoholic drinks _are_ prohibited within campus premises. Their drinking place was cozy, with some makeshift benches, a cooler for their beers, and a wooden table with metal legs starting to rust at the center for the occasional food or card games. Scattered around were cups converted to ashtrays, with cigarette buts sticking out here and there. They kept on talking, eventually making Lisa lose track of time. Around her 4th bottle of beer, and Kwon's 9th (or 13th, who keeps track of how many beers Kwon drinks, anyway), Lisa's stomach grumbled and Bambam suggested that they go down to get something to eat for dinner. On Bambam's suggestion, it dawned on Lisa that she completely forgot about her math class (her terribly, terribly, horrible math class: she was failing), making Lisa down her 4th bottle faster than Bambam getting up for dinner. 

"Oh well, shit." Lisa mumbled to herself, acknowledging the familiar sense of panic and numbness entering her mind. 

Lisa and the boys decided to eat noodles from a nearby ramen shop off-campus. The ramen shop, if it was even registered to be called that, was a dingy small space, with the kitchen facing the street, for everybody to see how they cook (or dump hot water, meat, and seasoning, really). At the side of the kitchen-slash-open bar was the entrance proper to the ramen shop, offering some plastic tables and plastic chairs to the shop's loyal customers (read: financially struggling students). Slightly buzzed from all the activity of getting up and walking, coupled with the dark thoughts swirling around her mind, Lisa didn't bother to notice her surroundings, mindlessly following Bambam's footsteps to the ramen shop. Lisa slid on to the plastic chair beside Bambam, resting her head ontop of the table, in an attempt to make her mind slow down (because if there's anything stable in the world, surely, it would be the plasitc table in the dingy ramen shop). 

"Spicy level three?" Bambam asked Lisa gave a grunt in approval. 

Kwon was talking about how he flunked Professor Yang's class for the third time, a story filled with rats and malicious intentions and Lisa was listening intently when Lisa felt somebody kick her chair from behind. Putting on a scowl, she turned to glare at her attacker. Her attacker greeted her with a big smile, eyes glinting with mischief. It took all of 2 seconds for Lisa to feel that this situation was all too familiar and was faced to a smiling (too brightly, to be honest) Jisoo. 

_Somebody's happy._

* * *

The floor of the room was cluttered with cardboard cuts of various sizes, rolls of plastic covers, different species of plants, with two girls lying at the middle of the mess. The coffee table was in a much better state, with two plants carefully pressed and covered. 

"Jisoo, I think you have classmates at the front door?" The voice of Jisoo's mom, heard from the other side of the house, cut Jisoo's breaktime short. Seulgi continued to lie down on the floor, and Jisoo was tempted to press her too, cover her in plastic just for the heck of it but she quickly decided against it because firstly that would require more energy expenditure than she was willing to make, and secondly, it would be a waste of perfectly good plastic rolls.   
  


Wondering who would be coming over at her house on a Saturday afternoon, Jisoo made a quick run-down of her friends in her mind. She was sure that the only person she made plans with was Seulgi. Jisoo begrudgingly got up and made her way outside the house.

Setting foot outside, she could make out two pairs of white sneakers that could be seen through the bottom of the gate, but only one blonde head was visible at the top of the gate.

_A tall blonde, and somebody short_ , Jisoo mused. Before she could infer the identity of pair were, Jennie's head peeked through the gate and the edges of her cat eyes slanted upward. 

"Pssst, Jisoo!" A smile was evident in Jennie's voice, and Chaeyoungs laughter could be heard. Eyes widening in surprise, Jisoo hurriedly opened the gate to let the two inside. 

"Two questions: how and why?" Jisoo asked as soon as she could see the pair.

Jennie gave her a gummy smile, and Chaeyoung cleared her throat, clearly in an attempt to start explaining, but Jennie cut her off.

"Remember when you said that you haven't drank before? Well, we decided to be the bearer of good fate and good drinks, I hope you like cocktails. Also, we were bored, like, very bored."

Instead of getting mad at the sudden intrusion, Jisoo let out a long laugh at the two, only noticing now that Chaeyoung was cradling a paper bag in her arms, contents unknown but Jisoo could take an educated guess to what it was. 

"We might've asked Seulgi where you live, you know, to surprise you? Anyway, if you don't like to drink, we brought cake!" Chaeyoung said, shooting Jennie a pointed look, a look which Jennie completely missed because the latter was already making her way inside. 

“Jisoo that hurt!" Seulgi shouted in response to Jisoo's sudden kick.

Seulgi was still lying down on the floor, and Jisoo may have kicked her a little too hard than necessary to get her attention. Seulgi shifted onto her side, curling like an injured baby.

Jennie let out a low whistle when she saw the clutter, and Seulgi (appropriately) let out a shriek when she saw Jennie.

"Oh my god? When Chaeyoung asked for Jisoo's address I-" Seulgi stuttered, finding the right words, the pain from Jisoo's kick quickly long forgotten.

"You didn't think to tell me, yes?" Jisoo butted in, with a pointed tone, but her smiling eyes made Seulgi visibly relax. _Okay, Jisoo's not really mad, the hag is smiling_ , Seulgi thought as she got up to help Jisoo clear the mess. 

The mess was cleared in less than twenty minutes, with Seulgi's backpain making itself known as she placed the last cardboard cutout inside the trash bag. 

"Hnng, my back hurts. Anyway, why are you guys here?" Seulgi asked as the duo as she flopped onto Jisoo's bed. 

"Ah, yes!" Chaeyoung scurried to the paper bag neglected in the corner. She pulled out two bottles, a bottle of gin and a bottle of vodka. "It's time for Jisoo to achieve a new developmental milestone! Also, there's cake in the paper bag but the bottles have a more wow factor." Seulgi laughed at Chaeyoung and at Jisoo's face which was currently unreadable at the moment. 

"You guys are going to drive Jisoo crazy. If not today then sometime soon. I'd love to see it happen today, but it's about time I go. Soo, I'm going to bring our herbariums, okay? You know, in case, er, to avoid any destruction that might happen to our babies." Jisoo nodded in agreement to everything Seulgi said.

She and Seulgi excused themselves from the room, with Jisoo seeing Seulgi out of the house. 

"I honestly have mixed feelings about this, are you sure you don't want to stay?" Jisoo leaned against the gate.

Seulgi let out a hearty laugh and patted Jisoo on the head. "Never thought they'd come to your house and bring drinks, but hey, it's time we get new friends. You guys seem to get along well. I'd love to join, but you know the time and how my mom ...is." Jisoo sighed in defeat and gave Seulgi a quick hug before going back into the house.

Chaeyoung and Jennie managed to get a pitcher, three glasses, and utensils for the cake in the quick time Jisoo was outside with Seulgi. In response to Jisoo's questioning look, Chaeyoung pointed to Jennie.

"I'm good with mothers." Jennie casually said, shrugging off as if she didn't just talk to Dara, Jisoo's mom, who was frankly intimidating. Jisoo shot Jennie a panicked look, and as if reading her mind, Chaeyoung hurriedly explained that Dara didn't know about the drinks, because they didn't know how Dara would act. 

"You guys are giving me a headache. Where's the cake?" Jisoo asked, rubbing her temples. She sat in between Jennie and Chaeyoung, with the Jennie busy mixing the drinks and Chaeyoung setting the cake.

"Here, say aaaaah" Chaeyoung fed Jisoo a piece of cake. Shorlty after Jisoo swallowed the cake, Jennie offered her a glass with her mix. 

"Okay just to be clear, we went here because we were bored but we aren't forcing you, Jisoo. If you don't want to drink, that's cool, we can eat cake together and do something else." Jennie said, with all seriousness in her voice.

Jisoo couldn't help but relax at Jennie's statement. _For a somebody so bitch-faced, Jennie sure is caring_ , Jisoo thought. Jisoo took the glass, and drank the mix slowly, letting the flavor wash over her tongue. 

"Ay, Jen it tastes awful. Put more vodka and juice." Chaeyoung demanded after drinking half a glass smoothly. Jennie rolled her eyes at Chaeyoung, but obeying her command, nonetheless. 

The pitcher filled with Jennie's mix was down to its last third when Dara's voice informed them that dinner was ready.

"Jisoo, are you still okay? It's your first time and Jen doesn't do light mixes." Chaeyoung asked, as she supported Jisoo to a standing position.

Jisoo felt light but was still in control of her body and particularly her walking. "Yeah, I'm good. What about you guys?" They nodded and made their way out to the dining room. 

Chaeyoung let out a small squeal when they reached the dining room, with Dara having prepared four viands in addition to the big bowl of rice at the center. 

"Well, ladies, the food isn't going to be hot any much longer. Come and sit." Dara ushered, smiling at the visitors.

The three girls sat and gave their thanks for the food, and much to Jisoo's surprise, her mother engaged in small talk with her friends. Jisoo thoroughly enjoyed dinner, with the buzz of the cocktail amplifying her mood. Chaeyoung was very vocal on her appreciation for the food, and Jennie _was_ good with mothers.

_Her schmoozing skills are no joke, and if she'd get tired of trying to become a researcher, she'd surely get a good job at public relations_ \- and shortly after she finished her train of thought, Chaeyoung and Jennie burst into laughter. Coming down from her little buzz, Jisoo realized that she vocalized her thoughts. Ears turning red, she mentally acknowledged that maybe, just maybe, she was a little drunk. Dinner went by with Dara (and Jisoo) getting to know more about the duo and Dara was pleased, much like how any Asian mother would be, when Chaeyoung volunteered to do the dishes. 

"I insist that Jennie and I do the dishes. Please take your rest." Chaeyoung said, with a bow to boot at the end. Caving in, Dara thanked the girls and left the dining area.

Jennie scooted closer to Jisoo, ignoring Chaeyoung's pointed looks as the latter started clearing the table. "So Jisoo, my mixing skills are pretty neat, huh?"

Jisoo scrunched her face at Jennie, then proceeded to give her praises for her mix. Her perception of time must have been altered because the table was now cleared and Chaeyoung was scouring the drawers for the dishwashing soap. Wobbling, Jisoo made her way to Chaeyoung. Initially she meant to help in doing the dishes, but Jisoo could only lean against the counter, pointing (with much effort) to the specific drawer where the sponge was located. Jennie must have been a little buzzed too because she was sitting contentedly in the chair, humming to herself while watching Chaeyoung do the dishes. 

"There's still a third of the pitcher left, do you guys wanna finish it? Just crash here tonight." Jisoo said, and water must have splashed against Chaeyoung's eyes because they started to water.

"Awe, Jisoo are you sure? I mean, I'm sure I'm totally good but do you really know Jennie? What if she's a mass murderer at night. Do you really want her to slee- ouch!!" Chaeyoung's conspiracy was cut short with Jennie hitting her thigh with the use of her indoor slippers. Jennie laughed at Chaeyoungs reaction, and as if being energized by Chaeyoung's agony, she got up and started to dry off the dishes. 

"Sure, we'll stay, Jis. Hmm do you wanna watch a movie?" Jennie started to list off cartoon titles. 

Jisoo was struggling to fight off her eyelids closing with the same valiant effort Mulan was trying to protect her true self from Shang. What shrugged her off her sleepiness wasn’t Mushu's incessant yelling, but Chaeyoung's phone. More precisely, their selfie which Chaeyoung took without warning.

"Hey, lemme see!" Jisoo said, hovering over Chaeyoung's shoulder. Jisoo was lying down in between Chaeyoung and Jennie, and all their faces were partly covered by the soft pillows that they used to prop their heads as they were watching Mulan from Jisoo's laptop. 

"Don't sweat it, Jisoo. I'm not going to post our faces; I'm just going to send this to Lisa." Chaeyoung chuckled, as she typed away on her phone. Jennie sushed them both, with her being invested in the movie more than the other two combined. 

! Ping ! 

Jisoo's phone buzzed and lit up with a notification. It was Lisa, and she just sent her a friend request on Facebook. Jisoo accepted it right away and Lisa sent her a message shortly after.

[Lisa 8:31 PM] Hi :< < < you guys drinking? 

[Jisoo 8:32 PM] We were, but we already finished what Jennie bought kekeke

[Lisa 8:32 PM] Awee that sounds fun, what are you guys doing right now? Chaeng sent me a selfie.

Eventually, Mulan saved China, and Moana saved Motunui, then Jennie and Chaeyoung fell asleep, but Jisoo was still up and exchanging messages with Lisa over whatnots. 

[Jisoo 12:03 AM] Yeahh, the chicken totally came before the egg. Also, are you tired? You should be sleeping by now :P 

[Lisa 12:03 AM] Nahh, I'm still good, but you tho, should sleep. You could still use a few inches kekeke 

Jisoo smiled against her white screen. _The audacity_ , she thought. 

[Jisoo 12:04 AM] Heh. Okay, I'm going to sleep first. Keke it was nice talking to you. Watch me get those inches. 

Her eyelids were dropping more heavily this time around. Before dozing off, she was vaguely aware of her phone lighting up again, indicating that Lisa replied. 

* * *

Jisoo smiled as she entered the gates of the university. She scanned the small crowd milling in front of the administration building, eyeing for any familiar faces. It was the enrollment period for the sophomores, and Jisoo was excited to see her friends after weeks of summer break. Realizing that she didn't know anyone in the nearby crowd, she headed for the kiosks near her department. It took Jisoo's legs ten minutes to reach her department's area, and less than a minute for her ears to hear the infectious laughter that was uniquely Chaeyoung's. In a nearby kiosk, Jisoo could see Chaeyoung together with other science majors lazing about the benches, their papers and requirements for enrollment strewn across the table. At the far side, subtly away from the people in the kiosk was Jennie, with her arms wrapped around her knees, glaring at the pebbles on the ground. 

"When the landscape artist thought to litter the ground with pebbles, I assume he didn't think that anyone would be offended by them." Jisoo teased, poking Jennie's cheeks as she got near her.

Jennie's frown was momentarily turned upside down when she saw Jisoo, offering her a smile along with a big sigh. Chaeyoung quickly got up from her lazing position and gave Jisoo a big bear hug, a form of affection uncommon for Jisoo but nonetheless welcomed, especially considering that it came from Chaeyoung. Jisoo settled down besides Jennie, poking her again, in her own annoying way, as to make Jennie feel her support (for whatever Jennie is going through right now). Jennie continued to stay silent, but her glare towards the pebbles softened, and she rested her head (read: cheeks) on Jisoo's shoulder. 

"Now this is the part where you say, thank you Jisoo, I miss you Jisoo." Jisoo said, earning her a quick laugh from Jennie. 

"Oh wow, Jis, you made her laugh. That's ten times the progress you managed in under a minute compared to my efforts for the past hour." Chaeyoung whined, sticking out her tongue to Jennie, to which Jennie replied with a nose scrunch. Just then, a crowd of freshmen (judging from their fresh faces, eyes sparkling with wonder, and most obviously their name tags) along with Seulgi approached the kiosk where the girls were staying. 

"And here you can see the top two sophomore minds of our sciences program, Kim Jisoo and Jennie Kim. Guys, say hi to our freshmen! They just enrolled yesterday." Seulgi was currently a campus guide for the new enrollees– one of the random duties she had to do as a student assistant. Not that she minded, roaming around the campus was far better than stacking papers all day in the records section (well that's what she told Jisoo anyway). Jisoo and Jennie blushed at Seulgi's remark. The rankings were posted outside the faculty office well into the middle of the summer break, but a quick upload by the student council spread the news like wildfire. Seulgi grinned at Jennie and Jisoo, before proceeding to tease them further. 

"So, freshies, do you guys have any questions for our top two minds?" 

"Yeah, I have a question, hey miss, hey miss, are you single?" A high pitched voiced asked and the girls broke into laughter, earning a few questioning looks from the freshmen that Seulgi was touring around. 

The owner of the voice appeared, brining with her a thick folder filled with papers– forms that were partially filled, procrastination evident.

"Ah and this is Lisa, the hottest or coolest, depending on your type, here in the sciences program, sadly not available." Lisa gave a dramatic bow to the freshies before plopping down next to Jisoo.

Chaeyoung ushered the freshies and Seulgi away from the kiosk before Seulgi could inflict more embarrassment to their group. Seulgi relented, but only after Chaeyoung promised to send a complete list of the schedule they'd plan on taking. 

The papers, Jisoo found out, were forms for processing the roundabout way Lisa was going to enroll for this term, considering that she failed two major classes: Algebra and Introduction to Chemistry. The girls agreed to share the same schedule, as much as their listed classes would permit. They spent the morning walking to- and fro- various buildings, getting cleared from the previous term and settling their account for the next term.

Jisoo texted Seulgi the latest update on their final schedule, one she shared with both Jennie and Chaeyoung, before she sat down onto the plastic chair. They were in the ramen shop for lunch, with Chaeyoung mothering Jennie into eating the noodles and sides which she ordered for her. Jisoo sat across them and hummed to herself, thankful for the food to fill her empty stomach, drained from the activities earlier. By the time they were almost finished, Lisa dashed into the shop, panting as she stopped in front of the three. 

"Guess who's enrolled! A little late, a little delayed, but enrolled." Lisa grinned and took the seat next to Jisoo. "Thank you for ordering my food, I owe you one." Lisa whispered into Jisoo's ear, her breath giving Jisoo tickles. Jisoo ignored the feeling and Lisa altogether, currently focusing her gaze on Jennie (and trying to get the tickles away from her mind). The table was silent for a few minutes, save for the noise Lisa made while eating. 

Under the intense gaze of concern from her friends, Jennie caved in. "I'm okay, I, er, met a guy during the summer and we broke up." Jennie finally spurted, and right after her confession, Lisa spurted out as well - spurted out the noodles she had been slupring. Jennie didn't know which was louder: Chaeyoung's sigh of exasperation or Jisoo's gasp in shock; but she was sure that Lisa would choke if that girl wouldn't drink water soon.

Before any of them could properly console Jennie, Lisa finished her bowl and dragged them to the nearby convenience store, handed one basket to Jisoo and one to Chaeyoung. They breezed through the chips section, with Lisa grabbing chips here and there, putting it into the basket Chaeyoung was carrying, and they went to the liquor section next. Jennie realized what was happening and proceeded to pickout various bottles, placing them into Jisoo's basket. When Jennie finished choosing the liquor, Lisa headed to get a pack of ice and dragged them to the cashier. Jisoo was still puzzled about the happenings, and Chaeyoung was as much so– Lisa didn't really say anything, nor did Jennie, but the two had a silent understanding going on. 

They kept on walking along the dormitories outside of campus and stopped in front of a small diner. Lisa guided them to a hidden side entrance, which led them directly to a flight of stairs. They stopped at the first room, and after Lisa opened the apartment, she ordered both Chaeyoung and Jisoo to sit on the cushions on the floor. It was a studio-type apartment, with a shoerack by the door, and the small low-set dining table with four cushions placed at the center of the apartment. To the far end of the door was Lisa's double sized bed, with her luggage laying open by the foot of the bed, clothes not yet properly sorted into the closet south of the bed. A study table which was empty save for Lisa's laptop and study lamp was situated next to the bed, with novels perched atop screw-on shelves above the table. Two small counters were a few steps from the closet, which contained a small stove, heater, and a sink. It was small, a little messy, but distinctly Lisa, Jisoo thought. 

Lisa was busy preparing the snacks and glasses, while Jennie busied herself with mixing the drinks. Eventually, the two made their way to the table, food and drinks laid in front of Jisoo and Chaeyoung.

"Okay." Lisa started as she sat beside Jisoo. 

"Okay." Jennie replied, sitting in between Jisoo and Chaeyoung. 

Jennie drank her mix like she was drinking water, with Lisa's gusto similar to Jennie's (their drinking reasons entirely different). It would have been perfectly fine if the two were planning to drink worth a year's liquor if not for their silly arrangement of having only two glasses– one for the mix, and one for the chaser. This meant that all of them drank equally, since the glasses were being passed around in a clockwise fashion. With their blood alcohol levels getting higher, Jennie was opening up more, in as much as the rest of the girls were getting buzzed.

From what Jisoo could register in her mind, Jennie met Jong-in when she went to her hometown in New Zealand for the summer break. They had a chance encounter among the mangoes, or mangroves (Jisoo wasn't sure, the important thing was that there were trees), by the lake and within minutes they were already making out in the wilderness (nature, whatever, the important thing was Jennie was talking and Jisoo was listening). At this point in Jennie's story, Chaeyoung audibly gasped, clasping her hands in front of her mouth, with slight tears forming around her eyes. 

"Jennie Kim! How scandalous!" Chaeyoung shouted, a blush forming around her cheeks. Chaeyoung hugged Jisoo, glaring at Jennie. The blonde kept mumbling about confessions and sins, and frankly at this point Jisoo wasn't sure if Chaeyoung was serious or not, but guessing how flustered Chaeyoung got, she probably took offense at how brash Jennie acted. 

"I mean, we're nearing our twenties, and I've never had a boyfriend? Besides, it's been so long since I made out with anyone." Jennie whined, and Jisoo took a mental note to ask about Jennie's previous crusades for some other time. Lisa's approval of Jennie's actions was much at par on how Chaeyoung disapproved of it. She gave Jennie a big thumbs-up before hugging her tightly. 

"Ya, Jennie, it's great that you got some action over the summer! Now let's get to the dirty part– what went wrong? Do we fly back there and beat this Jong-in guy in his house?" Lisa looked Jennie in the eye seriously, and Jisoo couldn't help but chuckle at how Lisa was so good at doing a gangster bravado. Lisa heard Jisoo's chuckle and gave Jisoo a side-eye. "I'm serious, Jen! I mean, we can't afford to fly there now, but let me think of something." Lisa said. She let go of Jennie and proceeded to lie down on the floor. She stared at the ceiling, apparently deep in thought on how they'd get revenge. 

"I broke up with him when the break was almost over. I mean, long distance relationships suck and the main reason why I started going out with him was the for the _dailymakeoutsessions_." Jennie rushed the last part, refusing to look at Chaeyoung, who got even redder when she heard what Jennie said. 

"Okay, I see. And we're sad and moping and drinking because– " Jisoo started, finally buzzed down to join the conversation.

"Because I saw him making out with another girl a few days after we broke up. He made out with her among the mangroves by the lake! That was our spot!" Jennie whined like a spoiled brat, her face in a full pout and her arms crossed over her chest.

Chaeyoung was anything but subtle in her laughter, and apparently Jennie's pout made her forget about how she was offended by Jennie's unchristian-like activities as she proceeded to give Jennie a tight hug. Jennie smiled into Chaeyoung's hug, enjoying the warmth her close friend offered her. Chaeyoung was putting all her weight into the hug and Jennie wasn't stable enough to support them both which resulted to them rolling on the floor. Jennie got infected with Chaeyoung's laughter, and Jisoo noticed Lisa getting up quickly to get something in her luggage. 

"For a known bad-ass, you're so soft." Jisoo cooed, as Lisa took a picture of Jennie and Chaeyoung hugging on the floor. Lisa gave Jisoo a smile, before yelling at them to pose for a group picture. Lisa set the camera on the table on timer mode, and the four of them sluggishly assembled side by side to have their picture taken. 

The camera was set on burst mode, and Jisoo couldn't help but admire the pictures. They were definitely drunk, with their eyes half-open and their bodies leaning against each other for support. Jennie was either frowning or pouting in all the pictures, and Chaeyoung looked like she was having the time of her life (she was, Jennie being Jennie about the break-up made her cackle), and Jisoo and Lisa were smiling brightly, with Lisa's arm wrapped around Jisoo in a tight hug. 

"Send me a copy of the pictures?" Jisoo asked Lisa with puppy eyes and Lisa was probably deaf because she just stared at Jisoo with wide eyes. Jisoo repeated the question to which Lisa finally answered with a big nod. 

Jennie whined when she realized that they already finished the drinks they bought. With much effort, she took a look at her surroundings and saw Chaeyoung sleeping soundly on the floor, using the cushion as her pillow. Jisoo and Lisa were leaning against each other, focused on viewing whatever it was on Lisa's camera. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized that the bags of chips were already empty, and judging by the crumbs on Chaeyoung's mouth, the culprit was pretty much the sleeping blonde. Her stomach's grumbling was enough to get the attention of Jisoo, who looked at her sheepishly. 

"Let's get us some dinner. What do you guys feel about chicken barbeque? I know a take-out place that opens by dinner time and it's cheap." Thankfully, the alcohol was fading into levels that Jisoo could manage. Jennie was in no shape to walk, and Chaeyoung was still sound asleep. Jisoo silently stood up, determined to get her friends dinner alone when Lisa called out for her to wait up. 

"Wait up, I'm not leaving you alone." Lisa said, catching up to Jisoo. "You two, sleep. We'll be back with dinner." Lisa glanced back at Jennie and Chaeyoung and couldn't help but smile at the two. Jennie was already curled up beside Chaeyoung. It didn't look like they'd be going anywhere anytime soon. 

Jisoo was already waiting at the foot of the stairs for Lisa and started walking when Lisa came down to her side.

As they made their way through the alley, Jisoo nudged Lisa softly while looking straight ahead. "You okay?" Jisoo asked, and Lisa with her heavy heart, with the problems of school, scholarships, and relationships– all of which they haven't talked about yet because Jennie was the center of the afternoon's drinking session, smiled. She playfully nudged Jisoo in return. 

"Getting there." Lisa whispered softly. 

Jisoo thanked the cashier as he gave out the change. Counting the money on her palm, she made her way to Lisa, who was leaning against the utility pole situated across the barbecue place. Lisa had half of her weight supported by one foot on the ground, and the other half supported by her other foot and back against the pole; she had her eyes closed, with her arms across her chest. 

"Hey, open your eyes." Jisoo whispered hovering in front of Lisa. Lisa reluctantly opened her eyes and saw a Jisoo holding a penny in front of her.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Jisoo shyly asked, her smile betraying her nervousness.

Lisa gave out a deep sigh before breaking out into a smile. She grabbed the penny, with her fingers gently lingering against Jisoo's for a second longer than necessary. _Jisoo's fingers are warm._

Jisoo positioned herself next to Lisa, with her shoulders bumping against Lisa's arms. Both stared at the smoke from the chicken on the grill across the street (it was a small street, with stray dogs lying right at the middle and kids running around making it narrower than it already was).

Lisa toyed with the coin in her hand, with her eyes transfixed on the smoked that came out from the grill. "So I failed two major subjects during our first year." The smoke was at its thickest right above the raw chicken. "My dad's great, really, he's a great man, but there's just this pressure, you know?" As the smoke travelled upward, it thins out. "When I graduated high school, I was at the top of my class. I came from a public school, but the ones with a special class for the smart ones, anyway, I topped. I topped in my special class, and this goes without saying I topped my batch, regular public-school students included. We were four thousand all in all." The smoke, as it travelled upwards, then sideward together with the direction of the wind, assumed the shape of a wisp. "So being _the_ number one among four thousand gave me this scholarship, which was really easy to maintain, well, supposedly. I just had to _fucking_ pass all my classes." The wisps of smoke made its way two inches higher before it eventually vanished. "So yeah, I failed two major subjects resulting in me losing my scholarship. My dad's great. Really, he is. He even offered me to get my own place instead of the dorm, because maybe my studies got affected by the dorm environment? Like, maybe I couldn't concentrate if there were too many people around?" Lisa's voice hitched at the last part, and Jisoo hummed, not really saying anything but it was enough for Lisa to know that she was listening. 

Lisa focused on the chicken, how the skin was turning darker by the lick of the flames. "He doesn't say it, not directly, but he has these expectations, and it’s are suffocating me." Lisa gave out a dry laugh, and Jisoo turned her head to face Lisa, offering her a small smile when Lisa looked at her briefly, before resuming to look at the grill. "That's that, I guess. Mainly. Let's do one penny at a time." The chicken was cooked by now, judging by the charred edges. Jisoo was the first to stand up straight, heading towards the grill to get their orders. Lisa began to shift from her position as well and was about to walk towards Jisoo when her phone rang.

[Calling: Babe] 

"Hey babe." Lisa answered her phone, a faint smile playing on her lips. 

Jisoo went back to Lisa, with their chicken take-out in one hand, and a plastic bag of rice on the other. She could hear bits and pieces of Lisa's conversation and assumed that she was talking to her boyfriend because it was right about their scheduled call time. Jisoo gestured to Lisa that they should get going, back to their two sleepyheads in Lisa's apartment, and Lisa nodded, following Jisoo's steps while she maintained her conversation on the phone.

By the time they reached Lisa's apartment, Lisa bade goodbye to the call and fished out the keys to unlock the door. The apartment was exactly how they left it, with drinks and the empty bag of chips on the table, and the two bodies sprawled over the floor, sleeping soundlessly. Lisa grabbed the food from Jisoo's hand and gestured to Jennie and Chaeyoung.

"You wake them up, I'll prepare the food." Lisa said. Chaeyoung was easy, a slight prod woke her up and the smell of chicken barbeque wafting its way across the apartment was enough to make her to sit up. Jennie, on the other hand, was more of a challenge. 

"Oy, Jennie." Jisoo kept on saying, poking the girl's cheeks to elicit a reaction. Chaeyoung observed Jisoo for a moment before taking matters into her own hands, or foot.

Chaeyoung kicked Jennie's leg, and juding from the girl's response, the kick had some force backing into it. "Jen, come on, let's eat dinner." Chaeyoung grumbled, slowly clearing the table so that Lisa could set their food. 

Jennie woke up with a pout, clinging onto Jisoo's arm as Jisoo helped her into a sitting position.

"Jisoo, tell Chaeyoung she hurt me." Jisoo rolled her eyes fondly at Jennie's drama, but before she could reply, Chaeyoung lunged herself onto Jennie, causing Jisoo to stumble.

"Ay, ay, ay, Chaeyoung watch it! Jennie is still latching on to me!" Jisoo whined, but Chaeyoung topped Jennie's drama by being dramatic herself. 

"Awe, Jen I'm sorry. Where does it hurt? Will you forgive me?" Chaeyoung asked while stroking Jennie's hair. Jennie grumbled yes in response, with her pout slowly turning into a contented smile.

An exasperated sigh came from both Lisa and Jisoo. 

The four ate their dinner in peace, with Jennie and Chaeyoung's drama finally over (to the relief of both Jisoo and Lisa). Lisa ended up making coffee for the four of them when they realized that all of them still had a long commute before they would reach their respective homes. 

"Jen, if you're really bummed about this Jong-in guy, you could always hit him up, you know?" Chaeyoung started, as the coffee sobered her up completely.

Jennie stared at her coffee for a moment before responding. "I don't think I really liked him, though."

"Mm, she's just being petty because she got replaced and Jong-in recycled their make-out spot" Jisoo remarked, earning a pillow throw from a smiling Jennie.

"Bitch." Jennie snarled, showing her gums (which totally had no fear-adding effect).

"Bitches be petty, bitches be Jennie" Lisa chimed in, earning a slap from Jennie, who dropped her angry act to smile at her friends. 

"Whatever your deal with Jong-in is, we're here for you, okay? We love you, from the mountains–"

Chaeyoung started to be dramatic but Lisa cut her off. "Uh huh, won't make out with you, but love you all the same." 

"If you want to drink Jen, we're always here for you." Jisoo added. To this, all the girls in the room raised their eyebrow to Jisoo. "What? Jennie's mixes are good!" Jisoo defended herself, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. 

"Awe Rosie, the seed we planted had begun to blossom." Jennie cooed, laughing at the expense of Jisoo's embarrassment.

"If Jisoo turns to be an alcoholic, I'm blaming you two idiots." Lisa grumbled, sipping her coffee slowly.

"Nuh-uh, you were the one who pulled us out of the ramen shop earlier and initiated this whole afternoon's drinking session." Chaeyoung pointed out, wiggling her fingers at Lisa.

"The offer stands, you guys are all mean, and I should get going." Jisoo scoffed at her three friends. Just because she was new to the whole drinking thing didn't mean she couldn't do it regularly, Jisoo thought. Jennie and Chaeyoung scrambled to follow Jisoo because they needed to go home too. Lisa looked at the clock and realized it was nearing ten in the evening. She ushered the three to the door, telling them to leave the cleaning up to her (which she will most probably put off for tomorrow) so that they could catch the bus home. 

"Okay, you guys travel safe. Text me when you get home?" Lisa said by the door, watching her friends put their shoes back on. Chaeyoung and Jennie grumbled some sort of yes under their breaths while Jisoo simply smirked at Lisa before heading out the door.

As Lisa closed the door, she realized that she _still_ didn't have Jisoo's number. A smile crept up to Lisa's face. _She think's she so coy,_ Lisa thought. True enough, Lisa ignored the dishes and the table altogether, preferring to have a quick shower before turning off the lights (if you can't see the mess, the mess doesn't exist, or whatever logic works). Lisa flopped onto her bed, getting comfortable by the soft mattress. As she was about to doze off, her phone notified her with a message– it was from Jennie. She just got home and Chaeyoung was with her, opting to crash at her place rather than traveling another hour to her own place (Chaeyoung was technically from Australia, but she had an aunt who lived an hour away from the university, so she boarded there). 

Lisa decided to scroll through her feed for a few minutes when Jisoo sent her an instant message.

[Jisoo 11:03 PM] still don't have your number kekeke

Lisa broke into a smile, and hastily typed out a reply

[Lisa 11:03 PM] i know. heh. you home?

[Jisoo 11:05 PM] yes :) thank you for today, i'm going to sleep now, goodnight sleep tight

[Lisa 11:05 PM] okay, goodnight

[Lisa 11:05 PM] **...** _is typing_

[Lisa 11:06 PM]

[Lisa 11:07 PM] **...** _is typing_

[Lisa 11:08 PM] thank you for the penny today

* * *

The room was packed with around one hundred-fifty science majors crammed into a hundred-seater audio-visual room. It was their first general assembly of the year, with the main agenda of having a new set of officers for their student body. The freshmen were seated at the front, listening intently to the speaker, with the higher years scattered at the back, some on their phones, others dozing off, and a small portion paying attention to their newly elected chairperson, Bae Joohyun. Bae Joohyun, or Irene by her peers, was frustrated and exhausted– with the responsibilities of being the Sciences head, her looming undergraduate thesis, and frankly by how long the meeting was dragging out. 

"Guys, come on. Nominations for the second-year representative, let's go. I need somebody, don't leave me hanging." Irene was trying to make eye contact with the sophomores, who were all suddenly interested in everything else except the meeting at hand. Seulgi was a long-time goner, with saliva dripping from her open mouth (Lisa and Jisoo were currenlty betting which would happen first: a fly entering Seulgi's mouth or Seulgi being choked by her spit); Jennie shifted her attention to her phone; and Chaeyoung was busy reading the nutrition facts on the bag of chips. 

Irene zeroed her eyes on the sleeping Seulgi, a sly smirk playing on her lips. "Kang Seulgi! What was that? Did you nominate somebody?" Irene shouted loud enough to bring Seulgi back to the real world. Apparently, much to Jisoo's win and Lisa's loss, saliva was pooling at the back of Seulgi's mouth causing her to choke upon waking up. On Irene's question, all the first years turned their head to Seulgi, and Seulgi fresh from choking on her spit, could hear Jisoo's laughter by her side. 

"Kim Jisoo!" Seulgi exclaimed, not really answering Irene's question but more of trying to make Jisoo stop laughing (which did not work). Jennie and Chaeyoung shifted their gaze from their phone and bag of chips respectively and looked at Irene. Irene was smiling from ear-to-ear, and before Jisoo could stop laughing at Seulgi, the freshmen were already clapping their hands. Jisoo was popular among the freshmen, with Seulgi's introduction of Jisoo being the top of their class and with Jisoo's beauty, it was easy to have supporters. However, the real voters were the sophomores, all of which were happy that they weren't the ones unfortunate enough to be named during the nominations.

The rest of the nominations were a blur. 

"What the fuck?" Jisoo whispered as she was being pushed by Jennie to go to the front of the room. Begrudgingly, Jisoo arrived at the front, and from her oversized sweatshirt, cropped jeans, down to her worn-out sneakers, she didn't look much like somebody to be feared and respected, but Irene didn't have any hesitations on having her aboard with the Sciences Council. 

"Good evening everybody, I'm Kim Jisoo, your newly-elected second year representative, I hope we all do well this year." Jisoo finished her introduction with a bow and she could hear Lisa and Chaeyoung scream in support. _Those idiots_ , Jisoo thought in embarrassment. Jisoo tried to catch Seulgi's eyes while Irene was wrapping up the meeting but Seulgi pretended to be interested in what Irene was saying, perhaps too interested with Seulgi nodding in agreement after every syllable going out of Irene's mouth. _Just you wait, Kang Seulgi,_ Jisoo thought, her eyes boring into Seulgi's skull. 

The general assembly ended, but Jisoo was held back by the council to for a good thirty minutes. They discussed matters to be tackled on the next assembly and Irene outlined the events for the entire year. Jisoo's head was starting to ache. Thankfully, Irene dismissed the council with her scheduling their next official meeting the next week. As Jisoo grabbed her bag, she took out her phone (ready to text the hell out of Seulgi).

[fr KangSeul; 6:18 PM] JISOO I LOVE YOU 

[fr KangSeul; 6:18 PM] HE HE HE HE I gotta go see you tomorrow or maybe never 

[fr Jennie Kim; 6:20 PM] Congratulations on the new position, number 1! See you tomorrow.

[fr Park Chaeyoung; 6:21 PM] Soo, I'll go first. Congrats on your win! uwu I'm so proud of you uwu

[fr Dad 6:31; PM] Jisoo what time are you coming home?

Jisoo walked outside on autopilot, busy replying to all the texts she received while she was in the meeting. Feeling the throbbing at her temples, she stopped walking and gave out a big sigh. She could see a group of people at the foot of the stairs, presumably talking to the one sitting down. Faintly, she could hear bits of the conversation.

"It's okay, I'm gonna pass for tonight. Let's drink some other time." The person sitting down said- the voice was oddly familiar, but Jisoo's tired mind couldn't register who it was. The group of people walked away as Jisoo made her way down. The owner of the voice turned her head into Jisoo's direction and offered Jisoo a big smile. Jisoo gasped in surprise at the sight of Lisa. 

"Hey, what are you doing here? The assembly ended thirty minutes ago... or longer, I don't know anymore." Jisoo said, her smile reaching her eyes in response to Lisa's smile. Lisa hopped onto her feet and gave out an offhanded shrug. 

"I was waiting for you, silly. You still won our bet earlier, Seulgi choked the shit out of her spit." Lisa remarked, her hand fumbling in her pocket. Jisoo was touched by Lisa's gesture, although she wouldn't admit it out loud.

Jisoo proceeded to walk, gesturing Lisa to follow her. 

"Where do you wanna eat, Miss second-year-representative?" Lisa teased, and Jisoo flicked Lisa's nose in response. 

"Ugh, let's eat some chicken first before we dive into what happened earlier." Lisa nodded, acknowledging Jisoo's request.

Lisa refrained from teasing Jisoo about her new position all throughout their dinner, something which Jisoo was grateful for. Instead, they talked about the schoolwork, how Lisa was doing with her overloaded schedule, and how Jennie and Chaeyoung would much be better off as a couple. 

"I'm serious! I told Chaeng that she should just kiss Jennie to make Jennie forget about Jong-in!" Lisa laughed while telling Jisoo about her theories on Jennie and Chaeyoung.

Lisa went on and on about her theories and would have probably kept on going if not for the waiter who disrupted her with the bill. The restaurant they were eating in was already closing, and they were the only customers left. Jisoo was caught off guard– she didn't notice that their dinner took _that_ long. Jisoo paid the bill, much to Lisa's disagreement, and rushed out of the restaurant, leaving Lisa to fumble after her. 

"Wait up!" Lisa panted, holding Jisoo by her shoulder. 

"I'm not going anywhere, I just thought it would be faster for us to get out if I paid and you'd follow me instead of arguing about who'll pay. Did you see what happened? I was right." Jisoo said smugly, and although Lisa could only see Jisoo's back, she was sure Jisoo was smiling. Lisa scoffed in annoyance (and in amusement; Jisoo was right). 

"Alright smarty-pants. Let me pay you anyway." Lisa said, removing her hand from Jisoo's shoulder.

Jisoo was turned around, ready to argue back that dinner was _her_ treat (just because) and that Lisa shouldn't pay for it, but the words got stuck in her throat when she saw what Lisa was holding. The coin glinted as it reflected light from the streetlamp, and behind the coin Jisoo could make out Lisa's eyes glinting as well. 

"A penny for your thoughts?" Lisa softly asked, with her thumb and index finger holding the penny to Jisoo's face like an offering.  
  


Jisoo softly took the penny and walked aimlessly with Lisa by her side. 

"Seulgi's and idiot." They made their way along the busy street, evading other pedestrians that came across their way. "But it's kinda exciting? Irene's actually excited for this school year and it makes me wanna support her in any way I can." They were nearing a public park and without thinking their feet shifted to the park's direction. "Honestly, I never thought I'd do well during our first year, so it was a pleasant surprise when the grades came out, and now this... responsibility." Lisa sat on an empty bench and tugged on Jisoo's sweater to make the girl sit beside her. "So, I'm scared, kinda, about my grades and being in the council." Jisoo smiled sheepishly at Lisa before ducking her head and muttering something incoherent. 

"Say it again." Lisa poked Jisoo, demanding the other girl's attention. Jisoo raised her head and looked at Lisa, with eyes all apologetic. 

"I'm sorry, here I am talking about grades. It's insensitive for me to-" 

"Hey don't say that. I have my problems and you have yours. It's okay to talk about your problems with your grades with me. I'm all here for it." Lisa said, holding two thumbs up to Jisoo. 

Jisoo and Lisa eased into the bench, their bodies pressed to the backrest.

Lisa didn't press Jisoo to say more, and Jisoo was swimming in her thoughts, trying to arrange them coherently. Their moment of silence was interrupted by the ringing of Lisa's phone.

[Calling: Babe]

"Hey." Lisa shot Jisoo a pressed smile as she answered her phone. Jisoo nodded, signaling Lisa to go ahead with the call. Jisoo took a hard look at her surroundings. The park was filled with trees, planted haphazardly across the park, with empty patches here and there perfect for daytime picnics or nighttime stargazing sessions, which some people were actually doing. The leaves were piled up at specific places, and there were only a few pedestrians walking along the cemented pathways. The streetlights were on, with the occasional busted lamp here and there - a _perfect example of government property,_ Jisoo thought. Beneath the lit lights were vendors, each offering a specialty of sorts. Jisoo smiled at the scenery before her, and she realized the headache that had been bothering her since the meeting was gone. 

"Mm. Okay, I hope you study well." Lisa ended the call with her boyfriend, and Jisoo toyed with the coin in her hand. Deciding that she had nothing to lose, she offered it back to Lisa. 

"But this night was supposed to be about you." Lisa argued, pouting at the coin Jisoo was holding out to her. 

"I've already talked lots tonight; it looks like you'll need a penny anyway." Jisoo replied but her eyes were on a cotton candy stand behind Lisa. Lisa turned to see what caught Jisoo's eye and gave out a slight chuckle when she saw the confectionary. Before Jisoo could say anything, Lisa got up and made her way to the cotton candy stand, buying two big servings and a bottle of water. Jisoo clapped her hands in excitement when Lisa made her way back to her. 

"I didn't say anything but thank you!" Jisoo grinned and was about to grab one stick when Lisa shot her a questioning look.

"Huh? Who said anything about you? These are all mine." Lisa said, and for a second Jisoo believed the blonde, choosing to sulk, her body melting back into the bench. Lisa laughed at Jisoo's actions and handed her the pink cotton candy along with the bottle of water. 

"I'm joking, I'm joking. Now where's my penny?" Lisa smiled as soon as Jisoo grabbed the cotton candy from her hands. Jisoo placed a coin on Lisa's head, and Lisa stared at her blue-colored cotton candy for a full minute before saying anything. 

"I've been with him for around three years? We started dating in high school." Lisa realized that although Jisoo has been present in numerous nightly calls with him, she never formally talked about her boyfriend. _There are so many more interesting things to talk about with Jisoo_ , a voice in Lisa's head automatically whispered, making Lisa chuckle. Jisoo noticed her laugh, raising her eyebrows in confusion but she remained silent, waiting for Lisa to speak. 

"I don't know, it just happened. He asked me out, out of the blue. We were classmates since first year - special class and all, but we weren't really close. So yeah, he asked me out, and I said yes." Lisa shrugged, trying to remember what happened during her high school days. "So, once we started dating, we started to get to know each other and he's been good to me. He was the one to suggest that when go to college we'd have nightly phone calls, you know, to keep communication going." Lisa squinted her eyes, and Jisoo wasn't really sure what Lisa was looking for, seeing that it was just an empty pathway in front of them. 

"Right now, he's having problems with his family and studies. It's frustrating because he has all these problems, but he keeps on playing ball with his friends. I don't know what he expects me to do though. I mean, I don't control his life, hell, I don't even have my shit together so-" Lisa squinted her eyes more, and Jisoo followed Lisa's gaze.

"If you squint hard enough, a ghost might appear." Jisoo remarked, still squinting, looking for what Lisa was looking. 

"Not funny!" Lisa exclaimed, slapping Jisoo on the arm. Jisoo laughed at Lisa, who suddenly refused to look forward; instead, she was focused on eating her cotton candy. 

"Anyway, going back?" Jisoo asked, poking Lisa with the water bottle, which Lisa took and drank earnestly. 

"I don't have my shit together." Lisa whispered, staring softly at the stick in her hands– cotton candy all gone. 

"I can't be always there for him when he's breaking and running away from his problems when _I_ don't even have my shit together." Lisa said, this time with more volume. It was as if it was a thought lingering in Lisa's mind that was spoken out loud for the first time. Jisoo placed her hand on Lisa's shoulder, squeezing her shoulder lightly. This time, their moment of silence was cut off by the ringing of Jisoo's phone. Both Lisa and Jisoo's eyes widened in surprise.

[Calling: Dad]

"Kim Jisoo, and I am saying this as calmly as any father would when his daughter, a daughter that _still_ lives under his roof, is out at _one_ in the morning; Kim Jisoo where are you?" It was said in one breath, and Jisoo internally panicked. She had a feeling that it was late, but she didn't know it was that late. She quickly apologized and promised to go home as soon as possible. Jisoo could imaging her father fuming, with her mother by his side calming him down.

"Fuck, it's one in the morning?" Jisoo looked at Lisa with panic in her eyes. Lisa checked her phone for the time and was caught off-guard as well. 

"Actually! It's one-thirty in the morning." Lisa quipped, getting the coin from her head and putting it in her pocket. "Come on, let's get you home." Lisa said, standing up and gathering their trash. 

"I'm dead, I told Dad I'll be home by ten, I totally lost track of time." Jisoo rambled as she and Lisa made their way outside the park. 

"Look! There's still a bus that passes by your area. Will you ride that one? Or will you take a taxi?" Lisa asked, as she spotted a bus by the bus stop. Jisoo's eyes widened and she took off in a run. 

"I'll take the bus, it's way safer. You go home and take care, yeah?" Jisoo shouted back at Lisa while rushing to the bus whose doors were about to close. Thankfully, the bus driver saw Jisoo and waited for the girl to board before closing the doors. Lisa waited until Jisoo's bus took off before making her way back home.

She felt lighter, with no regrets waiting up for Jisoo after the meeting. She did, however, regret that they lost track of time and the regret was only because Jisoo's father got mad.

Lisa was already in bed, getting ready to sleep when Jisoo called her via messenger.

"Hey, I'm home. I managed to calm down my father. Are you back at your place?" Jisoo whispered.

"I am, yeah. I'm sorry about earlier." Lisa whispered back; guilt evident in her voice.

"What? Don't be. I'm the one who promised my dad to get home by ten, not you. Let's sleep, okay? Goodnight." Jisoo ended the call as abruptly as she started it, but Lisa was already smiling into her pillow. 

_Still no phone number._

* * *

The first few weeks of the term passed by in a blur, with Jisoo juggling her studies, laboratory work, and council work. It was tiring but not exhausting- and Jisoo wouldn't have had it any other way. 

"Okay, so that settles it. Year-representatives, you guys will be in-charge of disseminating the final announcements later tonight, understand? Let's all enjoy our upcoming welcoming party. Dismissed." Irene said, with a faint smile on her lips, as she concluded the council's meeting. It was nearing seven in the evening, and majority of the council members were already tired from the long day. Goodbyes were heard throughout the room as the people got up and about, ready to go home. 

"Good evening, Pres" A familiar voice greeted Irene, and Jisoo could hear the footsteps approaching her. Before Jisoo could link the voice to its owner, she felt a light kick in the butt.

_Ah_ , _of course_.

"Kangseul, you violent bear." Jisoo grunted. She turned her head to glare at Seulgi, who was grinning at her. 

"Good evening, Seulgi. How are you?" Irene chuckled at the two and proceeded to talk with Seulgi, while Jisoo was still busy fixing her things.

Jisoo observed Seulgi, her eyes (or lack of) had twinkles, in as much as the light could reflect as she kept smiling at Irene. Jisoo snorted at her friend's behavior but nonetheless smiled at the thought of Seulgi finding another friend in their college. Slugging on her backpack with one arm, she draped her other arm over Seulgi's shoulders, catching the latter girl's attention. 

"Okay I'm done, stop bothering Irene already. The president is tired." Jisoo teased Seulgi, and as if by cue, Irene stifled a yawn.

Irene bid her goodbye to the two friends and went ahead. Jisoo could feel Seulgi's shoulders slump the moment Irene walked out of the room, making Jisoo chuckle. Jisoo didn't pry, knowing Seulgi, her friend would sooner or later (more probably sooner) talk about what she was thinking. Not a moment later, Jisoo's assumptions proved to be correct. 

"Irene is so kind, Jisoo. Plus, she's pretty. Like, really pretty." Seulgi whined, earning her a slight smack on the head from her companion. 

"She is, Seulgi. She is. Is this a crush, hmm?" Jisoo teased. She slid her arm from Seulgi's shoulders and held on to her hand instead, subtly tugging on Seulgi to follow her outside of the room. Seulgi let herself be dragged by Jisoo, too busy thinking about their president. Seulgi vaguely registered where they were going. 

"Seulgi. Come back. Yah!" Jisoo voice brought Seulgi back to the present time. Seulgi was shocked to find that they were already outside the ramen shop near the campus. Seulgi heard Jisoo's stomach rumble in hunger, making her laugh. She ushered Jisoo to find them a table and started to order for the both of them. 

As they were eating their noodles, the two discussed the latest happenings in class. Jisoo found comfort in their dinners, whenever they had any. Seulgi was still staffed as a student assistant, and whenever they had a relatively free schedule, she'd excuse herself to go home, to whatever her mother wanted her to do (there were a lot of errands that Seulgi did under her mother's orders, Jisoo knew of this since high school). So, when an opportunity to hang-out would present itself, they'd try to work something out. Their hangouts weren't loud– no shrieking, shouting, laughing till you were rolling on the floor; nor were they alcohol-filled, Seulgi was too much of a lightweight and preferred going home sober; their hangouts were simply comfortable. Jisoo's eyes perked up, totally ignoring what Seulgi was talking about. 

"-so that's how the administrative aide, hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Seulgi's story was cut short as she felt the Jisoo's heavy stare on her. 

"You were comfortable with Irene earlier, yeah?" Jisoo teased. A faint blush crept on Seulgi's cheeks.

"She was there, and you were still fixing your stuff." Seulgi mumbled faintly, but Jisoo read her lips perfectly.

"You know, she'll need an assistant during the welcoming party. Nothing really important to do, but somebody that'll stick by her side throughout the whole day, in case there'll be something that will pop-up and will need troubleshooting." Jisoo said casually, and Seulgi shrugged. 

"You think I'll sacrifice a day being responsibility-free just to stick by Irene's side?" Seulgi scoffed before eating her ramen. 

—

It was the day of the welcoming party, and two buses were parked in front of their building. It was still early but Jisoo wanted to make sure that the buses were already here- it was her assignment, after all. She sent Irene an update one their transportation, happy that there were no issues as of the moment. After speaking to the drivers and giving them their complementary breakfasts, Jisoo went aboard the nearest bus, wanting to settle down before others would arrive. Surprisingly, there was already another person onboard, her eyes looking out the window, off somewhere in her thoughts. 

"Hey! It's been a while. Is this seat taken?" Jisoo asked with too much enthusiasm to pass off as a casual question to the blonde who was currently listening to her earphones. Lisa turned her head to Jisoo, taking off one earphone so that she could hear better. 

"Hey." Lisa gave Jisoo a soft smile, and _wow yeah it's been a while_ since they had their talk in the park. Lisa's eyes flitted to somewhere behind Jisoo, before giving Jisoo a questioning look.

"Seulgi won't be sitting with you today?" Lisa asked, before she moved further to the window giving Jisoo ample room to sit down.

Jisoo couldn't help but burst into a grin at the mention of Seulgi. She slid down beside Lisa before answering. "She volunteered to be Irene's assistant for today." 

Lisa let out a laugh before fixing her stare at Jisoo. She proceeded to remove her other earbud before stuffing it in her bag. Jisoo blushed, suddenly ashamed that she disturbed Lisa's alone-time. 

"I'm sorry, it's okay if you have your earphones on. I won't be a bother, I promise." Jisoo said, bowing in apology.

Lisa poked Jisoo's forehead, nudging her face into a more upright position. _Lisa has pretty eyes_ , Jisoo thought, as she came eye-to-eye with Lisa. "You're silly. How have you been?" Lisa replied, completely ignoring the apology.

Jisoo lips curled into a small smile.

Jennie arrived around twenty minutes later, her cat eyes zeroing on Jisoo and Lisa laughing in their seats. She immediately flashed them her gummy smile before making her way towards them, settling in the row behind them. 

"Guess who overslept and is currently rushing to arrive in time before the bus leaves?" Jennie sarcastically asked, and Lisa laughed. Before Jisoo could ask who Jennie was talking about, Jisoo received a text from Chaeyoung (this must be important, the girl doesn't text without purpose). 

[from: Chaeyoung 7:21AM] Jisoo :( wait for me 

Chaeyoung had nine minutes before the bus was scheduled to depart, if they were going to stick to the original itinerary, one that Irene meticulously planned. If Jisoo would ask the driver to wait for a few more minutes, Chaeyoung could ride with them but that move would risk being targeted by Irene's wrath, and Jisoo had no idea what that would be like- she had been in Irene's good graces since they've been formally introduced. 

_Decisions, decisions_ , Jisoo thought. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and rubber her temples. 

"Glad to know that it isn't only me getting a headache from Rosie." Jennie remarked, seeing Jisoo concentrated on massaging her temples. While Jennie was content with at laughing at Jisoo and being comforable in her seat, Lisa looked at Jisoo worriedly. 

Jisoo could smell the calming effect of menthol entering her nose. She could feel Lisa's hands softly removing her own from her temples, only to be replaced by Lisa's hands. Her fingers had a cooling effect to their touch– Lisa probably dabbed a drop of menthol before using her fingers to massage Jisoo's head. 

"Is this okay?" Lisa whispered. Jisoo's lips formed a smile before giving out a soft yes. She couldn't see Lisa's reaction since she was still closing her eyes, but she felt Lisa's loud exhale on her face. Her few minutes of relaxation was disturbed by the driver's quesiton.

"Miss Kim? Are we good to go?" Jisoo opened her eyes to see the driver standing in front of her in the middle of the aisle. Jisoo glanced at her watch, it was exactly 7:30 in the morning.

She checked her phone, Chaeyoung didn't send any update on her location. Jisoo gave out a loud sigh. She gazed outside the window, and saw a blonde head jogging _or_ _running_ , rather towards the bus. If Lisa's massage improved her headache, Chaeyoung's presence completely erased it (although Chaeyoung was the real cause of the headache, but Jisoo chose not to dwell on that fact). Chaeyoung ran up just to stop at the driver's back- the bus aisle wasn't that wide. She took the opportunity to take a deep breath, her hands on her bended knees. 

"Yep, we're good to go." Jisoo popped the 'p' for emphasis, grinning at Chaeyoung's distress. "Good morning to you too, Chaeng." Jisoo greeted Chaeyoung as she hugged Jisoo while simultaneously giving off apologies. As soon as the bus started moving, Chaeyoung sat down next to Jennie and drank Jennie's water without permission. Jennie simply sighed, choosing to be thankful that her friend arrived in time rather than giving Irene something to be mad about. 

"Hey Jen, why is your bag sitting on the seat? I'm going to put it in the compartment above, okay?" Chaeyoung whined, after finished off the water bottle. 

"Jen placed it there because too many boys were asking if it was okay to sit beside her and she was getting annoyed." Lisa answered for Jennie, sending Chaeyoung a wink. Jennie rolled her eyes at Lisa before agreeing with her.

"It's true though. If only you listened to me and slept at my place, you wouldn't have been late." Jennie crossed her arms, shifting her body to face Chaeyoung- or Chaeyoung's stomach since the latter was still standing, busy with putting away their bags in the compartment. 

"I thought I'd wake up on time." Chaeyoung laughed, and the others simply sighed at their friend. 

The resort where they'd have their welcoming party was a good two-hour ride, and Jennie and Chaeyoung were already sleeping thirty minutes in. Jisoo and Lisa, however, were still talking. 

They talked and talked, and what surprised Jisoo was how easily she could talk about her family to Lisa. They were in the middle of the city, with the cars lining up with the morning rush; Jisoo talked about her parents, who were busy with work while she was growing up and Lisa shifted her body to face Jisoo, window-view long forgotten. The bus eventually eased out to the outskirts of the city, where the greenery was more than the islands in the streets; Jisoo gave anecdotes about her experiences with her older siblings all two who were born a decade ahead of her and Lisa gave chuckles at the punchlines. The outskirts evolved into the countryside, with roots of full-grown trees cracking at the sidewalks every so often; Jisoo whispered about how the fights in the family– regardless if Jisoo was directly involved or not, would manage to make Jisoo sleepless at night and Lisa was already looking at Jisoo in the eye, encouraging her to talk more with a shy smile subtly signaling that it was okay if Jisoo would want to stop anytime soon. 

Jisoo felt light, in the best of ways. 

"I realize that I've never told anybody what I told you right now." Jisoo spoke, this time with more volume. Lisa gave Jisoo a puzzled look.

"What do you mean? Seulgi mentioned that you got kicked out of homeroom in high school because you wouldn't stop talking with your seatmate." Lisa said, laughing at the thought of Jisoo standing in the corridor. Jisoo gave Lisa a pout, which Lisa immediately mimicked. In the other bus, a certain volunteer assistant choked on her saliva while sleeping. 

"Hey! Well, talking is different ... with _talking_. Both are okay. I just... I tend to listen, rather than _talk_." Jisoo mumbled, sounding rather silly but it made complete sense to Lisa.

Lisa stared at Jisoo's face for a moment, then her gaze shifted to Jisoo's hands which looked so good to hold at the moment _\- no_. Lisa shifted her focus back to Jisoo's eyes, pleasantly surprised by the vulnerability in her expression.

"Then listen to other people but _talk_ to me, okay? I'm here for it." Lisa whispered. It was the right response, judging from the heart-splitting grin that Jisoo beamed. 

Jisoo looked over Lisa's shoulders, assessing where they were. Growing up in the region, she was familiar with the place. They had around twenty minutes left before they'd arrive at the resort. Shifting in her seat, Jisoo eased her shoulders and back into the seat, and Lisa did the same. "So, how was your family like?" Jisoo asked, with her eyes side-eyeing Lisa, trying to gauge the blonde's reaction. 

Lisa talked about her parents: her mother and her stepfather. Jisoo could see the sea, just behind Lisa's side-profile, and she caught herself smiling at her view. Lisa talked about growing up in Thailand, how she punched Bambam when they were younger which led them to become close friends. They entered the town where the resort was located, and the sun was high up in the sky, with clouds comfortably hiding the sun, a perfect weather for their activities later. Lisa talked about how she was perfect in the eyes of her parents growing up. It must have been getting heavy for Lisa, talking about her parent's expectations, because a second later she began slumping in her seat, her head leveling now with Jisoo's ears. Lisa talked about how she viewed herself as everything but perfect, and Jisoo felt her shoulders automatically stiffen as Lisa's head slid onto her shoulder. 

Lisa felt heavy, as all her suppressed thoughts made their way out of her mouth but as Jisoo stroked her hair, Lisa felt she could carry the weight of the world. 

Eventually, the buses rolled into a stop and both girls evidently frowned. Their ride was a long one, but it felt that time was too short. As soon as the bus opened the door, an energetic Irene popped in, her voice loud enough to awaken those who were sleeping (Jennie and Chaeyoung included). 

"Let's go guys, let's go! You heard our president!" Seulgi barked, appearing right behind Irene. 

—

The day passed by a blur, with team building activities packed in the morning and presentations in the afternoon. The minute Irene declared 'free-time', the science majors were already sprawled out across the resort, some by the buffet table (Chaeyoung), some sunbathing by the pool (Jennie), some ready to splash the pool in a cannonball position (Jisoo), and others, downing another glass of cocktail mix by the sidelines (Lisa). Their department was small, and Irene took great pride in seeing everyone interact with each other happily. 

—

Eventually, their day ended and by sunset the students were lining up to enter the bus. Lisa didn't even know she was holding her breath until Jisoo dramatically flopped into the seat beside her. 

"Hey, you." Lisa greeted. Jisoo was the last one to board, being in charge of the transportation _did_ require that she needed to ensure all students were safely boarded, that the buses had their tanks filled, and the drivers were awake for the two-hour drive back to the university. Thankfully, nobody sat beside Lisa while Jisoo was busy with her council duties. 

Jisoo shifted her body to face Lisa, with her hair splaying water onto Lisa's face, making Lisa groan. 

"Hey yourself." Jisoo laughed at Lisa before taking the initiative to wipe the water on Lisa's face with her own sweater. 

"Is that even clean?" Lisa complained, and Jisoo rolled her eyes in response. Nearly everyone took a dip in the pool, and even if they didn't (Lisa), everybody swam by the sea earlier as part of Irene's team building activities. It was all mentioned beforehand, so everybody brought a change of clothes. Jisoo wore a sweater and jogging pants paired with thick socks and her worn out rubber shoes while Lisa was bundled in a tracksuit topped with a warm bonnet tucked snugly, partly covering her bangs. 

The bus grumbled into life, and they were on their way back to the university. 

"It was nice, today." Lisa said, with her face to the window, head sitting atop her hand, elbow propped on the windowsill. 

"I'll tell Pres that you enjoyed the activities." Jisoo said, her eyes and fingers busy texting her co-council members. 

"Mmm." Lisa decided to wait until Jisoo was done with her work before disturbing her seatmate. As Lisa felt the crisp countryside wind hitting her cheeks, she felt a slight weight on her left shoulder. Sparing her side a glance, Lisa realized Jisoo had fallen asleep while finishing up her update to Irene. Scanning the update, Lisa figured Jisoo simply forgot to hit send before dozing off, so Lisa sent the text and picked Jisoo's phone out of her hands. Lisa placed Jisoo's phone in Jisoo's bag, a place where it wouldn't fall, unlike Jisoo's hands that were unclasping from each other this very moment.

Lisa had fun today. She mused at the happenings and smiled at nothing in particular. With all the energy spent earlier, the rush of competitiveness, the barking laughter at endless antics of her classmates, to the various cheers shouted throughout the day, Lisa was aware of the silence that engulfed the bus. Majority were already knocked into sleep; and she was hyperaware of the silence between her and Jisoo, as if they were in their own bubble. It was calm, a kind of peace Lisa always craved for. 

Lisa never knew that sleeping with Jisoo's head as her pillow could be so ... revitalizing.

"We're here." Jisoo whispered into Lisa's ear, making Lisa shiver at the the contact.

"Let me sleep more. Very comfortable." Lisa groaned, snuggling further into Jisoo's side. 

Lisa could feel a deep sigh escaping Jisoo.

"Hey, wake up. Let's eat dinner?" Lisa could hear the pout in Jisoo's voice.

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up." Lisa claimed, stretching as she did so, with her extremities in a form much like a cat who just woke up. 

Jisoo proceeded to bother the two girls behind them the moment Lisa began stretching. "Jen, Chaeng, come on let's eat dinner. Get up you two."

The four made their way to a chicken diner nearby the campus with Jennie and Chaeyoung talking about a new girl group that was making waves on the charts, Lisa and Jisoo were a step behind them, fairly contented to listen to their friends. 

_It's a good day._

* * *

Lisa was making her way back to her apartment when two hands suddenly enveloped her in a tackle. Struggling to break her arms free, Lisa managed to give multiple slaps to her offender.

"Ya, ya, ya it hurts!" The voice cried out.

_Oops_. It was Bambam.

Lisa shifted in his arms before looking at him squarely in the face, her eyes glaring the soul out of him, or at least, there was an attempt to give him a glare. The moment Bambam pursed his lips into a pout and gave Lisa some kind of puppy-dog eyes, her glare softened and was eventually replaced by a look of annoyance.

"What is it, Bam? You can always greet me like a normal person, you know?" Lisa sighed, wiggling out of his arms, and shoving him to the side and proceeded to go back to walking. 

"That I can, but where's the fun in that?" Bambam matched Lisa’s pace and started to talk about the upcoming foundation day that the university would be hosting.

It would be a month from now, and it was when Lisa’s math professor conveniently scheduled a major exam. It was a cause of Lisa’s worries– it meant that she couldn't indulge in the pregame that was surely going to happen in the dormitories (technically she wasn't living in the campus dormitories anymore, but she had her connections). Lisa gave out a long sigh, but Bambam was busy rambling about performing in the university's dance competition.

_Wait what -_

"So, you in?" Bambam asked. Lisa stared at Bamabam in question, with her eyebrows meeting at the middle and her mouth hanging slightly ajar, an look that meant she listening to anything he was saying. Bambam flicked his fingers on her forehead. 

"We were thinking of joining the dance competition. It's going to be a nine-membered team and I want you to be in. So, you in?" Bambam asked again, and this time, his words registered in Lisa’s head.

In her mind, the gears were churning. A dance competition would require time and energy, and Lisa was sure to give more than what was required because if there was anything that she didn’t do half-assed, it would always be dancing. To participate, Lisa thought, would equate to less time for her to study, and she _really_ needed to do better this semester. It was a no-brainer; she couldn’t commit to it. But what went out of her mouth wasn’t a clear-cut no, rather, she asked Bambam for time to think it over.

When Lisa arrived at her apartment, she immediately felt at peace. There was something reassuring about being confined to the four corners of her own personal space, somewhere far away from the university and the expectations that her father had of her. She methodically stowed away her stuff at the desk and took a quick shower– having routines helped with the whole existential dread she had going on in her mind.

At the back of her mind, somewhere she tried to shut out, was a persistent voice that sounded much like the university’s guidance counselor saying that she should seek help. Maybe, just maybe, she had an anxiety disorder. She’d like to believe that she didn’t. She really didn’t want to know. The voice was tucked away in the far depths of her mind for a reason.

After the shower, Lisa heated a cup of noodles: nothing like the college dinner staple. She had dinner while facing her chemistry notes, an attempt to study at the very least. An hour (or five minutes, maybe) of reading the notes, her phone rang. A quick glance at the wall clock, and Lisa knew it was him.

“Hey.” Lisa brought her legs to close to her chest, and shut her eyes, focusing on the sound of his voice. He called almost every day without fail, and if he couldn't, he'd always inform beforehand. It was their routine, but lately this was a routine that was starting to suffocate Lisa. She didn't know when it started, but lately the calls became more of a reportage on how the day went, and if he was feeling talkative, a play-by-play recap on his latest basketball game. Is this what they called dating? On a closer look, they’ve been like this for years already– a reportage on our day, and Lisa didn't mind it that much before, but lately it's been a nagging thought.

Maybe this is what the novels would call 'losing the spark'? Was there even a spark to begin with? 

"So now I'm on my way home. I still have an exam first thing tomorrow. I'll cram it all tonight. Kinda forgot about it last week." He spoke.

Lisa was confused. How was she supposed to respond? Would she nag to him about how he shouldn't neglect his studies? She wasn’t his mother. Would she ignore how he has been consistently neglecting his studies? That made two of them, if she were to be brutally honest with herself (I won't, let me ignore that thought. I _am_ trying at this university thing, albeit not my best). A minute was lost in Lisa’s thoughts, thinking on how she should respond. One great thing about him was that he never pressured Lisa to talk. That _is_ a great thing, maybe.

In the end, Lisa could only reply with a "Okay. Study well." He was satisfied with the answer, so that counted for something. He bade Lisa a goodbye, ending the call with a perfectly enounced 'I love you', to which she replied perfectly with an 'I love you too'.

What is love, by the way? Was love having daily good morning texts and daily calls? Does this make Lisa the asshole, thinking that something was wrong with our steady, long-term relationship?

The thoughts Lisa’s head got louder the second our call ended, and she found that she couldn't focus on her notes anymore. With only the nightlight on, she lied on the bed, placing her back against the cool wall, hugging her pillow tightly. Her thoughts started questioning their relationship. She really didn't know if there was anything wrong, but she _felt_ that there was something wrong. Eventually, her mind shifted its focus to the notes that were still on the table, waiting to be reviewed. Lisa was at a standstill, one part of her wanted to study because she _feared_ failing, but another part of her was aware that she couldn't do much in her state. Her mind travelled all the way to Thailand, thinking of her parents– how they were working hard to provide for me and here she was, in her own apartment curled up in the bed at half past eight in the evening because the world suddenly became too much to bear. 

_Pathetic_ , she was being pathetic; and suddenly, she felt the tears roll down her cheeks.

Tonight was going to be a bad night. 

—

When she came to be, it was already morning. Lisa didn't feel better, but she woke up, and that should count for something. She mechanically responded to his good morning text before she got up to prepare for the day. 

"Have you eaten?" Jisoo's voice got Lisa out of her thoughts. Jisoo slid onto the chair beside me and gave me a heart-tugging smile. Lisa wasn’t even exaggerating; she literally felt her heart tug when she saw Jisoo’s smile. By extension, Lisa’s lips turned upward too. Without waiting for her answer, Jisoo placed a sandwich in front of her. 

"Eat, you'll feel better." Jisoo whispered, before turning her attention to our professor who just walked inside. That's it, Jisoo is totally a dork, quoting Remus Lupin at eight in the morning. She was right– Lisa did feel better after eating the sandwich. The class went by a blur, with Lisa’s head in the right headspace for absorbing the lecture's content, and she had Jisoo's sandwich to thank for that. 

Bambam was waiting for her by the door, with his stupid smile plastered on his face. "So, is it a yes?" Bambam wasted no time and went to the point. Jisoo, who was in front of Lisa, turned around and gave her a questioning look.

"You dance?" She asked, and Bambam laughed. Lisa mirrored her questioning look, surprised how Jisoo pieced Bambam asking her a vague question to dancing.

"Bambam told me he's still waiting on the last member to confirm for the dance line-up. You'll be representing our college, you know." Jisoo offered, figuring that Lisa wasn’t able to add two and two together. Of course, Jisoo would know about the line-up, she's part of our college council. "So, is it a yes?" This time, it was Jisoo who was asking, and Bambam was looking at me expectantly.

Mayhaps Lisa’s brain short-circuited because she heard herself echoing Jisoo. "Yes?" Before she knew it, Bambam was engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug, and Jisoo's laugh was echoing down the hallway as she made her way to her next class.

_Oh god, what did I sign myself up for?_

Lisa signed herself up to dance, and she had no regrets. Dancing was always an outlet for things she couldn't express, and it gave her more pressure to study in the limited time she had (which oddly enough, did her good). The only one who suffered from her dancing was the boyfriend, since their nightly calls were pushed back to ten in the evening (the time she’d settle back in the apartment after dance practice), and Lisa didn’t think he minded, because he spent his time playing video games while waiting for our nightly calls– and no, Lisa did not, and will not nag about his unhealthy habits because he's old enough to decide for himself. Well, she tried not to nag. _Tried_. 

It was the university foundation day, and the grounds were littered with food trucks which various organizations rented out as their income-generating projects; booths popped up here and there; and the stage was set at the far end of the football field where the giant LED screen flashed various sponsors for the whole event. A lot of students were roaming the school grounds, some were already wobbling. A piece of paper got Lisa’s attention, which made her look away from the window to see that the professor was waiting for her to get the test questionnaire.

Lisa hated math.

Surprisingly, the questions weren't difficult. If her knowledge stemmed from her intense cram sessions or because this was the second time she took the course, Lisa didn't dwell on it. As soon as she finished double checking her answers, she passed the test sheet and calmly exited the room. When Lisa was out of her professor's eyesight, she made a dash to the dressing room. 

—

"Lisa-poo! You're here!" Jennie was drunk, and Lisa was jealous. Jennie popped in the dressing room, holding a big tumbler which Lisa assumed was holding Jennie’s own mix. Lisa was sure of it. She offered her tumbler and yes, Lisa was right. Vodka, lime, and some kind of fruit puree. Lisa was about to drink more when Jennie hastily grabbed the tumbler from her hands. "Nuh-uh. You're still going to perform, and Irene would kill me if anybody from our college performs on-stage drunk. Well, that and Jisoo will probably get mad at me for making you drunk."

On why Jisoo getting mad at her weighed more than Irene killing her was something Lisa perfectly understood. The president may be scary, but Jisoo never got angry and nobody, not even Seulgi, wanted to see how that would go down. However, that didn't stop Lisa from smiling at Jennie's statement. "Why would Jisoo get mad if you got me drunk?" Lisa asked lightly, trying to mask my genuine curiosity.

Jennie didn't reply, and Lisa couldn't gauge her facial reaction because she was wearing shades– yes, she was wearing shades and it was nearing nighttime. _Fashion_ , Lisa, _fashion._ Jennie gave Lisa a quick hug for good luck before going outside, saying that she'd camp out at Chaeyoung's dressing room. Chaeyoung was going to compete in the singing category, and Jisoo was her manager for tonight. Irene assigned council members to be hands-on on the college contestants and speaking of Irene- 

"Seul, why aren't you in your costume yet?" Irene whispered as she entered the dressing room, and although the question was directed at Seulgi, almost all the dancers who weren't in costume rushed to get dressed. 

—

Performing was always a high, and the applause from the crowd served as the kickoff to a euphoric state. They were breathing heavily in their last formation, their pants in sync as they stayed still for about five more seconds. The second wave of applause started, and they gave a quick bow before going down from the stage. Irene and the rest of the science majors at the backstage were ecstatic. The performance was awesome, they said, and Lisa believed them. Irene was the first one who offered the dancers drinks, saying that they were allowed to get wasted since they already finished their duties for the night. After a quick wash– the makeup was sticky, and a change of clothes, Lisa joined her crew in the festivities.

One by one they drifted off in the crowd, and the best thing about the festivities was that almost anyone you knew would offer you something, and Lisa was starting to get tipsy. She reached the back of the crowd where it thinned out and the people were laying on picnic blankets, content to watch the stage from their own spots compared to those in the partied at the front (a mosh pit was inevitable). Lisa grinned when she Chaeyoung and Jennie dancing drunkenly in place with Jennie's tumbler now on the grass, apparently empty. Jisoo was lying down on the blanket, content to watch the two dancing to the band playing on stage. 

"Hey," Lisa plopped onto the blanket dramatically, making Jisoo turn her attention at her, "found you!" Lisa was grinning. Chaeyoung and Jennie noticed her arrival, and being the extra duo that they were, plopped onto _her_. 

"Lisa you were amazing!" They kept on saying, and Lisa could only say thank you in reply. She squirmed beneath them and gave Chaeyoung a big hug.

"You were amazing too, Chaeyoung!" Lisa managed to hear her sing from the back. Chaeyoung was good.

"Thanks, Jisoo helped a lot." Chaeyoung giggled, dragging Jisoo into the mess of a group hug.

Not surprisingly, Jisoo struggled to escape, but Jennie and Chaeyoungs' arms were stronger and eventually Jisoo gave out a sigh in defeat.

"Oh? You sing?" I asked, and Jisoo blushed in response.

Thankfully, a new song played, and it was apparently Chaeyoung and Jennie's 'jam', so they scrambled to stand up and dance, which freed Lisa and Jisoo from the hugs. It was perhaps Jisoo's jam too because she tugged on Lisa’s hand and led ger to the crowd to dance as well. 

There's always something _nice_ about being borderline drunk– Lisa knew what she was doing, but she felt light. It was light, like she didn’t spend most of her nights crying in bed for no apparent reason, like the weight of her own expectations on herself hasn't been a burden. It's even better when she spent it dancing away with friends. It's fun. Lisa liked to think that it's what being happy is. 

It was about four in the morning when the bands died out and people were already lying down on the field, well most people, there were about twenty goofs who kept dancing at the stage, and the organizers just let them. The four of them were lying on Chaeyoung's picnic blanket– they agreed that they’d go have breakfast by six in the morning. There were still two hours to sleep. Well, supposedly. Lisa couldn't sleep; no, not when Jisoo was talking about random things at four in the morning. How could she talk about the different types of grass and make it interesting? _Really_. 

The two were spouting off trivias they knew at the top of their heads, and Lisa was enjoying the silly exchange. Maybe too much.

"The earth's general temperature went down by two degrees during the late 1700s to the early 1800s? It was called the– what are you looking at?" Lisa felt Jisoo shift her head in Lisa’s direction, although Lisa felt Jisoo’s eyes were looking at something past her. Lisa followed Jisoo’s gaze and beyond the trees that fenced the school's field was the sun, slowly creeping up.

"Good morning." Jisoo whispered, and while looking at the yellow-orange hue tinting the sky, Lisa replied back, with probably the sincerest greeting she ever gave in my life. 

"Good morning." 

* * *

Lisa was trembling, and she had a slight idea why. She just got home from breakfast with her friends and despite how tired she felt, with her math exam to performing on stage to drinking and dancing well into the early hours of the morning, she felt that she needed to get _it_ out of her system. 

Earlier during breakfast, Lisa caught Jisoo's eyes as the latter laughed at her. Jisoo was laughing at how Jennie hogged the butter and how Chaeyoung hogged the syrup leaving Lisa with nothing for her pancakes, when _it_ hit Lisa. To cement her realizations, Jisoo came back with an extra serving of butter and syrup for Lisa, she was sure. 

Lisa quickly showered and changed into her pajamas and jumped onto her bed. She dialed the number she memorized over the past years. 

[Calling: Babe]

"Baby? Hi, good morning. I thought you'd still be asleep" He greeted, confused how Lisa was awake at this hour.

"I think, I think," Lisa was sweating, and she wasn't even sure if this was supposed to be a big deal. "I think I found my person" Lisa whispered, warmth radiating all over her body. It was one thing to think about it, and another entirely to vocalize it out loud. She heard her boyfriend give a light laugh at the other end.

"Is this a show reference? Also, is this Jisoo?" He asked, and Lisa couldn't help but smile. On the rare occasions that Lisa would expound about her life in the university, she always managed to insert Jisoo in the conversation– it wasn't intentional, but almost all interesting things that happened in her life lately were connected to Jisoo. Lisa could feel her body sink into the mattress, and she was thankful that her father insisted on buying her the expensive kind of mattress. She felt relaxed, although it could be argued that she felt relaxed due to her newfound realization rather than the pricey foam she laid on. 

"Yeah, it's a show reference. Yeah, it's Jisoo." Lisa replied, laughing at the absurdity of her situation– here she was gushing over a friend who gave her butter and syrup because she had none, _but it just makes so much sense_. It felt nice, and nice things were hard to come by lately, so Lisa reveled in her feelings. She continued to talk and maybe it was because it was a good morning, Lisa thought life was good. 

—

Classes resumed as usual when Monday came, and Lisa had no intention of telling Jisoo what she realized in the past days. Instead, Lisa found herself constanly by Jisoo's side, as much as their schedule permitted. Not that it was intentional, it was simply bound to happen, with Lisa's closest friends in her program being Jennie and Chaeyoung and with Jisoo being Jennie and Chaeyoung's constant classmate. Days passed, and Lisa felt like she was in kindergarten again, looking forward to attending class to see her friends (and to learn, because Jisoo and Jennie made it their mission that everybody understood what the professor was talking about). 

"What are you smiling like a stupid idiot at? Come here and help us with the plants, will you?" Jisoo called out to Lisa, who was busy admiring a candid picture of her girls she shot a few minutes prior. They were at the outskirts of the city, at the highlands, looking for the plants to complete their latest project: a plant profile of their assigned area. Lisa volunteered to be in-charge of the pictures, thus her camera. Lisa stuffed her camera in her fanny pack for safety and crouched beside Jisoo who was looking intently at the grass in front of them. 

"Open your palms like this-" Jisoo instructed as she held out her palms like a bowl and Lisa followed suit. Jennie poured some water to Lisa's palms from behind, and Jisoo quickly dropped a bunch of seeds after. Before Lisa could react, both Jisoo and Jennie ran and went to Chaeyoung who was a few meters away and was busy drawing out the plants in detail– pictures were needed but sketches were more important for the plant anatomy. 

"Wha-" Lisa felt mini-explosions pop in her hands which made her panic and loose balance. "What the fuck! Yah!" Lisa yelled, as she fell into the ditch at the roadside. Luckily, the ditch was empty save for some weeds, or unluckily, since the weeds had buds that stuck to her clothes, making Lisa itch. Lisa's curses were drowned out by Jisoo and Jennie's laughter and soon enough Lisa found herself laughing with them. 

"Guys, come on, I'm hungry." Chaeyoung whined halfheartedly, a smile creeping up her face as she saw Lisa's miserable state. 

"We're working too, Chaeng. Jen, it's confirmed, the plant that exploded was _Ruellia tuberosa_ " Jisoo defended, and Jennie played along, nodding to whatever Jisoo was saying and pretending to write down the information in her notebook (as if they didn't go over the plant's information before they pranked Lisa).

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, leaving the two geniuses be, and focused back on her sketch. The laughter quickly changed to shrieks (mostly from Jennie) and Chaeyoung paused long enough to see that Lisa threw two handfuls of seeds at Jisoo and Jennie. Lisa's retaliation ended in Jisoo and Lisa playing their own version of chase and with Jennie examining the seeds Lisa threw at them.

"Jisoo! What do you think the species of this bur is?" Jennie shouted at Jisoo, who was still running around chasing Lisa. Jisoo only stopped when she slapped Lisa's arm playfully thrice - one for her, one for Jennie, and one for Chaeyoung (because why not). Jisoo got one bud that was still stuck on her sleeve and studied it for a moment. 

"I don't know, Jen. What are the burs endemic in the city?" Jisoo asked, her face all scrunched up in concentration. Lisa, who was getting down from her high nudged Jisoo at the sides. 

"Oh, and here I thought you were all knowing?" Lisa teased, draping an arm around Jisoo's shoulders as they made their way back to Jennie and Chaeyoung. Jisoo wiggled out of Lisa's hold and playfully shoved the taller girl. 

"I don't know everything, silly. I'm not perfect." Jisoo said offhandedly, busy studying the bud on her palm. 

_Ah, but you are_ , Lisa thought, a smile forming on her face. 

As soon as she parted with her friends, Lisa started to feel a headache coming. It was either a headache or some sort of weird chest pain, which would eventually progress to both symptoms as the night would trudge on. It was as if her friends had a kind of protective shield from all the negative emotions and thoughts Lisa had, and the moment she got to be alone, everything that was at bay would sail away. She hated it. Eating her last bar of chocolate from her stash for dinner, Lisa tried to focus on her notes. 

[fr Babe, 7:51 PM] Hi, I'm going to call later, the boys wanted to get a drink tonight. 

Lisa replied with a quick 'okay, have fun and take care', before she went back to her notes. It was like she was racing against time– she wanted to cover as much material as possible before she'd be paralyzed by the negative emotions that were creeping up. 

Lisa closed her notebook in satisfaction. Her head was aching, but it was a good kind of ache- something that she got when she studied for a long time. She looked at the clock; it was already one in the morning. Thoughts of her boyfriend flashed her mind, and Lisa looked for her phone. She found it lying on her bed, she must have casually thrown it over so that she wouldn't be disturbed by the notifications. She unlocked it with a quick slide of her finger and momentarily cursed at herself for placing the phone on silent mode. There were five missed calls and seven text messages, all from him. She quickly called, not bothering to read through the texts. 

_Lisa_ : Hey, I'm sorry I just called. How are you? Did you get home safely?

Lisa could hear shuffling; she hoped that her boyfriend wasn't mad. He honestly slipped past her mind. 

_Babe_ : Mmm, you didn't answer your phone. 

_Lisa_ : I'm sorry, I forgot that I placed it on silent. I just finished studying. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Do you wanna talk tomorrow instead?

Lisa bit her lip, anxious about how the other end was feeling. She knew it was wrong of her to neglect her girlfriend duties (she was dutybound, right? Isn't that how relationships work?), but she was engrossed in her studying and that rarely happened. Boyfriend be damned, she felt _good_ about studying hard. It felt like she was making all of Thailand proud (an exaggeration, she knows). 

Her boyfriend scolded her. He reiterated that they were dating, and Lisa should do her part, given that all they did was the bare minimum because they were in a long distance relationship. How hard could it have been to keep her phone by her side knowing that he would call? (It wasn't supposed to be hard, but it actually _is_.) Lisa kept silent all throughout, only speaking to acknowledge that she was still on the line, and to affirm that yes, it was her fault; yes, it won't happen next time; yes, good night; yes, I love you too. 

Once the phone call ended, the throbbing in her temples was competing with the palpitations in her chest. The negative feelings she fought earlier by studying were attacking her, and before she knew it, she was already crying. Through her tears, Lisa stared at the notebooks and reading materials on her desk. Whatever pride she had earlier was bulldozed by the guilt that was eating her up, because once again she messed up. 

"It was supposed to be a good night." Lisa cried, hugging her pillow tightly. 

—

Jisoo shot her a questioning look as she sat down on her seat. It had been a week since Lisa last saw Jisoo, since she last saw majority of her classmates, really. Ever since her fight with her boyfriend, Lisa got drunk on a nightly basis with her ex-dormmates at their spot on the rooftop and she'd usually wake up well past her first class of the day. It took a weekend of recluse in her apartment to get her shit together, swallow her pride and ask notes from Jisoo and Jennie, and open her books again. 

"Glad to know you're back from the dead." Jisoo mumbled, sliding a sandwich in front of Lisa. If only Lisa didn't cry her eyes out for the past days, she'd probably cry right then and there. 

"Satan didn't want me, so now I'm back." _Nothing like humor to deflect an incoming train wreck_ , Lisa thought. Jisoo stared at her fondly, and Lisa wanted to melt. "What are you staring at?" 

"I'm glad that you're back." Jisoo said casually, like Lisa came back after five minutes for a bathroom break and not a week-long breather.

"I'm glad I'm back too." Lisa replied, offering a small smile.

As her day progressed, Lisa was indeed happy to be back in the classroom. She found it amusing (touching, to be honest) when saw the girls wait outside of the classrooms– of the classes that they didn't share together. She felt that it was their way of ensuring she wouldn't disappear again. 

They kept it up for about a week more, with Jisoo, Jennie, or Chaeyoung (or any combination thereof) casually hanging outside her classrooms before Lisa said anything about it. They were enjoying their lunch break at the quadrangle, beneath the shade of the tall trees. 

"You guys baby me too much." Lisa started. The three of them looked up from their lunches and pretended to be shocked. "You guys aren't that slick, you know. My math class is in another building from your chemistry classes and they roughly end at the same time."

Chaeyoung was the first to drop the pretense. "We worry, Lisa." 

"You're our friend, and we didn't go up to your apartment when you weren't attending classes because Bambam told us you just needed time to think on your own. Now that you're going to class again, we wanna make sure ..." Jennie was at a loss for words and looked at Jisoo for help.

"We wanna make sure you don't do something silly like that again." The words rolled off Jisoo's tongue quickly, like it was something Jisoo was thinking of for a long time now. Instead of being offended, Lisa laughed at Jisoo's bluntness. 

"No promises, but really, you guys should stop meeting me by the door after class every time. People are starting to talk that I have three girlfriends following me." The three laughed at her statement, and Lisa couldn't help but laugh as well. 

"I thought you guys would stop babying me." Lisa said, trying to sound annoyed when she saw Jisoo leaning on the wall opposite of her classroom's door. Jisoo, in her shirt-jeans-sneakers glory was still a sight to behold, if the small crowd forming around Jisoo was any indication. Jisoo didn't seem to mind them though because when she heard Lisa's voice, her eyes immediately looked up from her phone and she gave Lisa her best smile. 

"I'm not babying you, I'm hungry and we're going to have dinner. Jen and Chaeyoung went home already." Jisoo bumped her shoulder against Lisa's arm, her own way of saying 'hi'. 

"Fine, but we're eating at the ramen shop near campus, and you're paying." Jisoo shrugged, expecting that it was what Lisa would say. 

Their dinner dragged out for more than an hour, with the two losing track of time as they exchanged stories about their day. Lisa's cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling and laughing she exchanged with Jisoo, and it was a pleasant feeling. It was always pleasant when she was with the girls, more so when she was with Jisoo. She noticed Jisoo look at the time. Jisoo looked at Lisa's phone expectantly, and Lisa was puzzled as to why. 

"It's already eight." Jisoo said in a hushed tone, her concentration now on the last bit of noodle in her bowl. 

_Ah_ , Lisa thought. Oddly enough, she didn't feel anything. _It's a first_ , to not feel anything. 

"No calls tonight, we broke up." Lisa said. Jisoo's eyes widened in surprise and it appeared to Lisa as if Jisoo was ... panicking?

Jisoo was silent for a moment, but her legs were anything but steady. With a deep breath, Jisoo stood up and dragged Lisa along with her. They stopped at a coffee shop nearby and Jisoo bought an ice cream cake to go. She offered the paper bag to Lisa.

"Usually when somebody breaks up with someone..." Jisoo was stammering, and it was cute "ice cream or cake is supposed to help? So here's an ice cream cake." Jisoo was so awkward, it made Lisa laugh. 

"Do you want to go to the apartment and eat it with me?" Lisa asked.

"If you want me to." Jisoo said, scratching the back of her neck. Lisa got the paper bag from Jisoo and led the way back to her apartment. 

They were seated on the cushions, with the slice of ice cream cake between them.

"So- um- I'm sorry, I really don't know how to comfort you." Jisoo started, toying with her fork. She was holding her phone with her other hand, busy scrolling.

Lisa squinted at what Jisoo was reading. "Are you seriously searching the web on how to comfort a friend right now?" Lisa asked, and Jisoo blushed in embarrassment. 

"I don't know how to comfort you! Isn't this supposed to be sad? This is my first time having a friend fresh from a break-up, because obviously Jennie's didn't count!" Jisoo defended herself, closing her phone and placing it face down on the table.

Lisa laughed, finding comfort in Jisoo's embarrassment. At least Lisa wasn't the only one shy tonight. "You're such a dork, you know." Jisoo frowned, and it only made Lisa smile wider. "It's okay, well, the break-up thing isn't, but you not knowing what to do is- okay." Lisa said.

"It happened the other day, or was it the day before that?" Lisa took her time with her words. "He's a good guy, really. I just have my own shit, and he has his own shit, and maybe I'm selfish but I can't deal with _his_ shit now." Lisa said, stopping to eat the cake that Jisoo was feeding her. 

"I think I can live with making a selfish decision like that. He agreed to it, so I guess our split was mutual." Lisa felt Jisoo move closer to her. Their shoulders were now bumping against each other, and Jisoo stayed silent, opting to feed Lisa with the cake rather than speaking. Lisa didn't feel any pressure in saying more and was content with how Jisoo was trying to comfort her.

Jisoo ate the last piece of the cake, before speaking. "Um, do you still love him?" She asked, and Lisa took a moment before replying.

"I don't think I ever loved him. He had a crush on me back in high school, confessed his feelings, and started dating me when I accepted his feelings. If there's an algorithm to loving someone, then maybe I followed it, but... I don't think I was _in_ love." 

Jisoo nodded slowly, like how a third grader would nod after her Math teacher would explain how three multpilied by seven would be twenty-one. "I- I don't understand, but I don't think I have too." Jisoo said, chuckling as she encircled Lisa in a side hug.

Lisa leaned in, and nodded at Jisoo's words. "I don't understand it myself." 

"Romance is weird and stressful." Jisoo stated, and Lisa nodded. They sat in silence, each absorbed in their individual thoughts.

"If it helps, I'm here."

"Did you get that line from your web search earlier?" Lisa teased. 

"No, I just felt that I had to say it. I mean it, you know. If it helps, I'm here." Jisoo reiterated, playfully slapping Lisa on the arm with the hand that was on Lisa's shoulder.

"It helps, it helps so much." Lisa said, thanking whatever gods Jisoo believed in for her existence.

There were no waves of negative emotions tonight. Tonight, Lisa felt calm.

* * *

Jisoo didn't do _feelings_. Well, yes, she loved her family, and loved her friends (debatable), but she didn't do _romantic feelings_.

She was sure of it, after spending numerous nights across the years on the said topic of romance. 

No, really– it began in grade school when her friends would gush about how cute Soohyun was (he wasn't, he had boogers underneath his fingernails) or how cool Changwook looked like when he won the tennis district meet (looking constipated every time his racket hit the tennis ball wasn't her definition of cool, thank you). Young Jisoo reasoned out to herself that maybe she just didn't get the hype on crushes yet.

When it was time for high school, where practically every boy and girl were filled with the teenage spirit of love, giggling here and there, sneaking glances everywhere; she still didn't get it. Jisoo liked hanging out with her friends, liked being on the phone all the time– texting whatnots, liked playing games with everybody, but she didn't like _like_ anyone. 

It came to the point where she randomly picked the first boy she saw across the hall as her 'crush', just so her classmates would stop asking her about it. All the _"Nabongs, no I really don't like him it was meant as a joke_ " eventually fell to deaf ears and Jisoo learned to roll with it, if it meant no more cringe-worthy truth questions (consequence of which were the dares, but hey, you win some, you lose some). Jisoo reasoned out that, okay, maybe she was a little bit delayed on the hype on romance. 

First year of college came, and a small voice at the back of her mind would plague her at random times: _is this okay?_ To which Jisoo would respond with, yes, it's okay. It was okay that she wasn't as interested in love as much as her peers were, as much as the whole world was, actually. 

It _was_ okay. It _is_ okay. She sorted out her lack of feelings years ago. So why, _why–_

"Why are you glaring at Jennie like that?" Chaeyoung's voice snapped Jisoo out of her reverie, effectively bringing Jisoo back to the present. 

It was as if all her senses turned back on simultaneously, after being shut out by her daydream. She could feel the coldness of the marble bench she and Chaeyoung sat on, the ache in her back demanding attention as she continued on with her slouched position. The smell of the grass after the rain invaded her sinuses; the dampness of the grass seeping in her thinly soled shoes and if there was anything Jisoo hated in the world, it was having wet shoes. A scowl was forming on her face. She heard Chaeyoung's sigh before she could feel it, her breath bringing out the goosebumps on Jisoo's arm. She focused back on what she was looking at before she zoned out, and immediately looked away. It was Jennie and Lisa, laughing in their own world just about ten feet away from the bench where she and Chaeyoung were. Her eyes met Chaeyoung's.

"I wasn't glaring." She must've spaced out for a long time because when she spoke, it felt she just moved her mouth for the first time in years. 

"Yeah, and I'm not hungry." A sigh. "I am, by the way, hungry." Chaeyoung looked disinterestedly at their friends ahead of them. "I say we ditch those losers and grab some cheap ramen." Chaeyoung stood up, doing a full stretch of her arms before pulling Jisoo to stand. 

Their movements didn't go unnoticed by their friends, and Lisa was quick to shoot her eyes to Jisoo, which went unnoticed because Jisoo was in her own head. "Yah! Where are you guys going?" 

Disarmed by the sudden attention Lisa was giving them, Jisoo marched on, not sparing her friends a glance. It didn't make sense, how she got irritated by Lisa and Jennie conversing on their own; it didn't make any sense at all, on why she felt angry that Lisa suddenly remembered ~~her~~ them just when they were leaving.

_This_ isn't okay. 

"Yah, Kim Jisoo! You walk fast when you're mad, did you know?" Chaeyoung pulled out the stool beside Jisoo. The blonde wiped her sweat (oh, Jisoo must've walked fast if Chaeyoung was sweating to keep up) before facing her friend. "So why are you mad anyway?" 

"Who said I was mad?" Jisoo asked, not bothering to look at Chaeyoung. Wow, is that a new line of instant noodles? Interesting. Very interesing, unlike Chaeyoung's question. "I'm not mad." How much was the sodium percentage of the black colored level 1 pack? Jisoo grabbed the nearest noodle packet. Oh, wow, the sodium contents were nearly two thousand milligrams. Two grams. Two, huh. "Where are the other two, by the way?" It was always satisfying to hear the crunching sound of raw noodles breaking. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Jisoo could feel the server look at herincredulously, and she immediately stopped. "Well not that it matters. I already ordered for you, by the way." 

Jisoo could hear Chaeyoung laugh, and when Jisoo spared her a glance, she couldn't help but laugh as well. Whatever anger Jisoo was feeling earlier, it began to ebb away.

(Thank god, because that anger was very, very weird.)

"They're still at uni. I think they're waiting for Irene to finish her classes, they had something to discuss. Raps? Reps? I'm not sure, I wasn't really listening." Their noodles arrived, and Chaeyoung's attention was shifted immediately to their food, which was good. By the time Jisoo swallowed her first forkful, Chaeyoung was already halfway through her bowl. "You have anything you wanna tell me, Chu?" Mmm, the noodles were great today, not too soggy, not too stiff. The broth was warm, perfect for the cold weather they had today. "You ignoring my questions isn't helping your case." Really, it was actually perfect, how the coldness of the air matched with the warmth the ramen brought. It brought peace to Jisoo's muddled mind. "Lisa!" 

Jisoo whipped her head to the shop's entrance, expecting to see the lanky assemblage of limbs that she began to unconciously look for everywhere. 

"Oh, good to know you aren't deaf." 

Jisoo shoved Chaeyoung in annoyance, before shifting her attention back to her bowl. "I was just thinking."

"Yeah? And what were you thinking about, pray tell." 

Jisoo took her time in finishing her ramen, fully aware that her friend was waiting for her answer. 

"I was thinking that since you were the one who said that we should eat, you'd be the one to pay." Jisoo stood up, grabbed her bag, and gave Chaeyoung a wink (it was a blink) before casually exiting the shop. "Thanks, Chaeng! See you tomorrow!" 

—

It was another day, and gratefully Jisoo had no trace of those weird emotions she felt yesterday. She was making her way out of her first period when she bumped into Irene, who looked happy to see the second-year representative. 

"Jisoo! Perfect. Can I borrow your phone? I need to text Lisa something quick and I ran out of credits." Irene asked, her hand extended with her palm up. 

Jisoo felt for her phone at the back of her pants and unlocked it with a lazy swipe. She opened the messages app and placed it in Irene's expectant palm. 

"What's Lisa's name in your contacts? I don't see her listed under L." Irene asked, busy typing away. 

"Oh, I, uh, don't have her number." Irene looked up at Jisoo with an unreadable expression. 

"You, Kim Jisoo, don't have Lisa's number? Lisa Manoban, the girl who you are literally attached to every break time?"

Jisoo scoffed. "Pres, you're being dramatic."

Jisoo could hear a chuckle not far behind. "She's not being dramatic. You guys _do_ hang-out every chance you have. Why don't you have Lisa's number anyway?" Jennie parked her chin on top of Jisoo's shoulder, and Jisoo shrugged in response, partly because she didn't have a proper excuse (hey, Lisa didn't have her number too!), and partly because she wanted to see Jennie's head bob up and down for the heck of it (Jisoo got a slap on her arm after, but it was worth it). 

Irene didn't mind them, busy cross-checking her phone to make sure she got Lisa's number right. As soon as the message was sent, she gave Jisoo her phone back, and said her thanks. By the time Irene was out of sight, Jennie was already looping her arms with Jisoo's, tugging her friend to move along because they still had class. "Jisoo walk faster because I don't wanna be late!" 

Jisoo was about to pocket her phone when it vibrated, signaling the arrival of a new message.

[fr: (unsaved number) 9:03 AM] okay, pres thanks for the heads up.

[fr: (unsaved number) 9:04 AM] new number? should i delete the old one?

Oh, it was Lisa. Jisoo's lips curled into a smile. At this point, Jennie was the tugs on her arm were borderline painful.

"Kim Jisoo stop smiling like an idiot and let's go to class, please." 

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:10 AM] hi, this isn't the pres, she ran out of credits so she used my phone

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:10 AM] oh ok lol who's this? :D

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:11 AM] seulgi? did u change your number?

"Jisoo are you even listening to class?" Jennie whispered.

"Yes, yes, I am." Jisoo raised her head to look at the chalkboard, nodding along for a few minutes to the lecture before going back to her phone. 

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:17 AM] why do you have everybody else's number but not mine 

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:17 AM] hmp

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:18 AM] because you're a loser

[fr: Lisa Maboan 9:18 AM] but seriosuly because u didnt give me ur number??

[fr: Lisa Manoabn 9:18 AM] u do remember all the times i asked your number right??

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:18 AM] yet here we are after so many beers and nights spent sleeping together...

Jisoo raised her eyebrow at Lisa's wording, and decided to mess with her. 

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:18 AM] beers and sleeping together wow, way to go, wild child 

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:19 AM] hey u texted me first i'll consider this as a win 

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:19 AM] oh my fucking god this is jisoo right pls tell me you're jisoo if you aren't jisoo let me clear my name 

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:19AM] so beers and sleeping with jisoo, interesting

"Jisoo? Wanna share with the class what's so funny there?" Her professor called out, and Jisoo could feel all her vessels constrict in panic. She locked her phone and slid it under her desk while simultaneously giving her professor her best smile. It worked, and the professor sighed. "So, as I was saying, physical forces..." 

Lisa must be panicking as well, considering that her phone hadn't stopped vibrating ever since she put it away. 

"Whoever you're texting must be really into you," More vibrations. "For the love of god tell them you're in class or shut your phone off, it feels like somebody's having sex on the desk." Jennie whined.

Chaeyoung laughed and Jisoo wasn't sure if it was at Jennie's misery or at her comment. 

It was a total of eleven messages that Lisa flooded, all within the variations of her begging that she was texting Jisoo and her saying that no, she didn't sleep around, and more importantly no she wasn't sleeping with Jisoo. Pitying her friend, she sneaked a single text back before finally concentrating on the lecture.

[to: Lisa Manoban 9:25 AM] stop flooding my messages bc jendeuk is complaining about the vibrations 

[fr: Lisa Manoban 9:25 AM] jesus thank god it's you

The lecture finally ended after eons (no, it was just an hour later), and Jisoo stayed behind to formally apologize to her professor about her behavior in class. He waved her off, and she made her way outside, looking for her friends. Unsurprisingly, Lisa was already with Jennie and Chaeyoung by the corridor, with her phone in one hand and the strap of her bag in the other. 

"It's Jisoos, by the way, not Jesus. You have your gods messed up." Jisoo said, bumping her shoulder against Lisa's. Lisa laughed, swaying her body towards Jisoo's in retaliation. 

" _You_ were the one who kept texting Chu earlier, weren't you?" Jennie's eyes narrowed towards Lisa, and Lisa let out a squeak that sounded like a yes. "For the record, you guys are weird." Jennie said before dropping the subject. 

Lisa looked at Jisoo, as if to ask _what is she talking about?_ And Jisoo shrugged, _I don't know._

—

The texting, Jennie and Chaeyoung noticed, only stopped when Jisoo and Lisa were in two feet of each other. Otherwise, both girls had their head down, phone in their hands. 

"What do they even talk about?" Chaeyoung whispered to Jennie, who was watching in fascination as Lisa lounged on the bench, with, of course, her phone in hand. 

"Honestly? I have no idea. Hey wanna do an experiment?"

Chaeyoung nodded.

"Lis, do you know where Jisoo is?" Jennie asked, innocently. 

"Hmm, she's at the council meeting right now." Tap, tap, tap, Lisa was busy with her phone. 

"Okay, you know if she's hungry?" Okay, Chaeyoung thought, where was Jennie going with this?

"Yeah, she said we should grab dinner at the chicken place nearby." Tap, tap, tap. 

"She's hungry? When was her last meal?" Jennie was already smiling. 

"Uh, lunch? We were together with her in case you forgot but Irene gave her a bar of chocolate before their meeting started." Tap, tap, tap.

"Uh huh okay. Hey Lis, do you know what Jisoo's preferred air condition setting is?"

Chaeyoung tried suppressing her laugh. 

"It's 18 degrees Celsius cool." Lisa stopped what she was doing on her phone and eyed Jennie and Chaeyoung suspiciously. "What's with all the questions? You guys are weird."

With Lisa's genuinely puzzled face, Chaeyoung gave up on surpressing her laugh. Jennie wore her triumphant gummy smile. "Well, that was a nice experiment." 

"What experiment? Do we have a new assignment for lab?" Lisa asked, but her attention was already back on her phone. 

"This is exciting, Jen" Chaeyoung commented, looking at Lisa with renewed interest. 

[to: Kim Jisoo 5:49 PM] is this okay?

[fr: Kim Jisoo 5:49 PM] mm?

[to: Kim Jisoo 5:50 PM] well you're in a meeting maybe i'm being a distraction lol 

[to: Kim Jisoo 5:51 PM] jen ang chaeng are being weird 

[fr: Kim Jisoo 5:53 PM] wdym weird they're always weird

[fr: Kim Jisoo 5:53 PM] yeah it's okay


	2. Dul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They kiss. It's a peck. And then some. It's okay.

It was half past one in the afternoon, and Lisa was, frankly, bored. She managed to drag out an unused armchair from a nearby classroom and settled for cloud gazing, angling the chair to the building's half walls. At least the breeze was nice. She watched the clouds drift away absentmindedly, with her phone perched on top of the armchair's desk. She wasn't waiting for anyone to text her; not now, anyway. Her math class was cancelled, and the girls were having a math exam of their own right now.

"Thought I'd find you here." Lisa smiled when she heard Jisoo's voice. She closed her eyes, readying herself to spend (more) time with her person. 

"You finished early." Lisa glanced at her wristwatch; she was sure Jisoo's exam still had another hour left. She could hear the screech of metal being dragged against the cemented floor. 

Jisoo positioned her own armchair beside Lisa's, with her chair perpendicular to the latter's. She laid her head on the desk– the wood wasn't exactly as polished, and if Lisa focused hard enough, she could see bits of dust against Jisoo’s face, but Jisoo's energy was already consumed by the exam prior. She eyed Lisa's face lazily. "Yeah, I finished answering and instead of stressing over the solutions I just submitted the test paper and left." 

"Eh, you'll do well regardless. Didn't you stay up past midnight doing sample exercises last night?" She could hear Jisoo hum in response. She returned to watching the clouds, but this time it was better, probably because she had a friend to share the silence with. "You wanna take a nap? I'll wake you up in thirty." Lisa offered, placing a hand on Jisoo's head. She began stroking Jisoo's hair gently, lulling the tired overachiever to sleep. 

Lisa awoke to pain in her neck– the one you get when you fall asleep with your neck extended, and soft touches on her right palm. She moved her head slowly, wincing as her neck muscles protested in pain against the movement. It was Jisoo, in some kind of limbo between wakefulness and sleep, drawing small circles on her palm. Jisoo traced circles with her index finger, then shifted to triangles, and eventually, it was two fingers on Lisa's palm doing some kind of... dance? Amused, and more awake, Lisa slid her hand to grasp Jisoo's, effectively intertwining their fingers together.

"What are you doing?" Lisa asked as Jisoo halfheartedly tried to break free from the handhold. 

"My fingers were bored." It wasn't what Lisa was expecting, but then again, she didn't really expect anything from Jisoo. She let go, and Jisoo immediately resumed playing with her hand. This time, she was extending Lisa's fingers one-by-one. She juxtaposed her own hand against Lisa's, with a smile forming on her face. "Look, our hands are the same size." 

"Yeah, they are." Lisa agreed, resisting the urge to intertwine their fingers again. "Do you always play with hands?"

Jisoo was silent for a moment, absorbed in her ministrations. "No." Jisoo looked up, looking at Lisa sheepishly. "Want me to stop?" She stood up, wiping the dust from her face and then proceeded to do a full stretch. 

Lisa let out a small groan in protest before pulling Jisoo back to her chair. "Don't stop, I like it when you're being weird." 

—

And it didn't stop. Every time they were alone, Jisoo would find Lisa's hand and play with it.

It didn't add up. If this were a math problem, the given facts were this: one, Jisoo wasn't physically affectionate. Chaeyoung and Jennie walking with Jisoo's arms interlocked in theirs was a feat in itself and was only achieved after months of friendship. Two, Jisoo's weird, _weird_ side would be more pronounced when they were alone; or when their friends were already sleeping, and they'd be the ones left awake; like now. Three, Jisoo was just so casual about all these developments that Lisa was at a war with herself for overthinking things. It's Jisoo, she's chill, and so should Lisa.

"You still awake?" Jisoo whispered, and Lisa felt the body shuffle beside her. Jisoo turned to face Lisa, albeit with her eyes closed, settling to playfully hitting her feet against Lisa's. A small grin was on Lisa's face, and before they'd do an all-out feet war, she trapped Jisoo's feet with her own.

Lisa gave out a small hum in response, which didn't really matter, because Jisoo was already drifting off to sleep. As if knowing what Jisoo would do next, Lisa extended her free hand in the space between them, and just a second after, Jisoo grabbed it, a smile appearing on her face as she played with Lisa's hand. The random movements died down, and that was when Lisa knew that her friend was knocked out for good. It was her turn to do random tracings on Jisoo's knuckles. 

Following what Elementary Mathematics taught her, Lisa began to look for what was asked. The given facts already plagued her mind, and now would be a perfect time for introspection to find out exactly _why_ was her mind a mess. She eyed Jisoo, from the slightly messed hair to the way her face seemed to be relaxed in sleep.

 _Well, that makes one of us._

Her gaze drifted off to Jisoo's hand, which was outside of the blanket they both shared. For a second, Lisa thought of placing the blanket over the hand, scared that Jisoo might get cold, but she opted to encase the bare hand with her own. It was warm; Jisoo was always crushingly warm, and it scared Lisa to some extent. 

Huh. 

A crush. Unconsciously, Lisa's grip on Jisoo's hand tightened, much like how her chest constricted as she entertained the thought of having a crush on Jisoo. Jisoo's face scrunched in response but instead of waking up, her fingers tried to weasel out of Lisa's tight hold. Lisa's hold loosened, and thankfully, her grip wasn't tight enough to wake her bedmate. Shutting her eyes, Lisa begged for sleep, but the universe was apparently enjoying her misery because Jisoo's fingers found hers again. If the contact wasn't enough to put Lisa in a state of crisis, Jisoo (oh sweet, sleeping Jisoo) brought Lisa's hand under her own face, making it as an additional pillow of sorts. Lisa could feel the microcurrents of wind on her hand as Jisoo breathed. Figuring that she couldn't sleep with all the thoughts in her head, she plowed on to the next step of the problem: the solution.

_Whatever that is._

"You're staring." Jisoo's eyes were still closed, but the way her eyebrows met at the middle was a good indication that she had been feeling Lisa's gaze for a while. 

"And you're awake. Hi." Lisa's voice sounded so meek that it was enough for Jisoo to open her eyes. Lisa was vaguely aware of the time. It couldn't be any later than five in the morning, because there wasn’t any sunlight spilling into the room from Jisoo’s window.

Lisa's mind was a mess, and Jisoo looking at her with concern in her eyes like she was the most important person to exist made her mind messier than it already was. "What's wrong?" Jisoo's poked her cheek, and angled it upward, literally making Lisa smile. "Also, why are we under the covers?" 

Lisa wasn't about to tell Jisoo that in the peak of her frustration at her own introspection she shoved the covers up high above their heads (as if being under the covers would shield her from whatever problems that were in her head; _hello_ , the problem was beside her). She settled for a simple "I felt cold." instead. 

Jisoo nodded, her eyes still studying Lisa's features. Figuring that that was simply that, she closed her eyes again, in an attempt to chase the sleep that was still lingering in her mind. 

"Something's wrong." It was a statement, but Jisoo didn't pressure Lisa into answering, if her closed eyes were any indication. 

_A solution, a solution._

_I want to kiss her._ Lisa was panicking. _Okay what the fuck, where did that come from_?

"What?" Jisoo asked, and Lisa has never been so thankful for Jisoo's sleep-induced deafness because she wasn't sure if she spoke it out loud (her thoughts were loud enough). Lisa looked at Jisoo, which was the wrong course of action, and before she could control herself:

"I want to kiss you." _Oh my god Lalisa Manoban what the fuck?_

"I really wanna kiss you." _Can you shut up oh my fucking god what the fuck?_

"I think I have a crush on you." _Yeah, okay, hey an idea, self, stop talking!_

"But I don't wanna have a crush on you." _Stop? Talking?!_

"But I really, really, wanna kiss you." _Jesus, please take me now._

Jisoo was silent, and Lisa prayed to all gods she learned from nursery up to now that Jisoo's sleep-induced deafness was strong enough for Jisoo to not hear her entire monologue earlier. 

"Okay." Jisoo's eyes slowly opened, and although it was still heavy with sleep, it looked like Jisoo had a clear understanding of Lisa's speech.

"What do you mean okay?" Lisa whispered. She was hyperaware of their surroundings, how they were both facing each with their feet tangled together, knees knocking against the other, her hand still(!) under Jisoo's face (that really, really, pretty face which she really, really, wanted to kiss). She was also aware that their two good friends were sleeping on the mattress on Jisoo's floor and, _oh my god this is such a mess_. 

"Maybe your crush will go away if you kiss me." Jisoo voice leveled with Lisa, and for being the top student in their program, Jisoo, at the current moment, was not being smart. Lisa's face must have been readable, because Jisoo reiterated her statement. "Kiss me. It'll go away, I guess. Kinda like exposure therapy." 

"What if it won't go away?" 

"It will." Jisoo was so sure of herself that Lisa found herself believing in it. 

Tentatively, Lisa shifted her hand that was underneath Jisoo's cheek. She slid her hand under Jisoo's jaw and tilted Jisoo's face to meet her's.

It was a peck.

One second– she felt her lips meeting Jisoo's. Two seconds– she became aware that Jisoo wasn't really doing anything. She just let Lisa kiss her. Three seconds– Lisa did everything in her power to move her head backwards, but that apparently was too much for her body to do because she could only manage a few inches away from Jisoo's lips. She rested her forehead against Jisoo's own, and she let out a groan.

"Did it go away?" Jisoo, honestly, was not helping Lisa in any way.

"No, I want to kiss you again." 

"Then kiss me again." 

Lisa stared at Jisoo in wonder, because if anything, it felt more like a big, dark joke; but a quick look into Jisoo's eyes and Lisa could tell that Jisoo was serious. Like she honestly believed that Lisa kissing her again would end Lisa's predicament. 

Going against better judgment, Lisa kissed her again.

It was a peck, again.

A millisecond long peck, filled with doubts and fears, because _honsetly, what am I doing?_ Lisa let out another groan, frustrated at how Jisoo's lips could be so enticing. 

"Again." 

She was going for another peck–her closed lips against Jisoo's, but Jisoo chose that exact moment to part her mouth and Lisa's lips conveniently captured it. Her thoughts were combusting until there wasn’t anything in her mind anymore.

One second– she could feel the contour of Jisoo's lips against her own. Two seconds– she could feel Jisoo's lips moving. Three seconds– not to be outdone, Lisa moved her lips against Jisoo's as well. Four seconds– Lisa nibbled on Jisoo's lower lip, which was both a good thing because Jisoo responded with a nibble of her own, and a bad thing because _this isn't fucking exposure therapy._ Another groan. 

"Did it work?" Jisoo asked, after Lisa parted from their kiss. 

Lisa shook her head, and she could hear Jisoo laugh. Instead of being annoyed, Lisa could feel her chest explode with warmth that was fueled by the laugh. Jisoo's laugh was cut short by a quick peck on the lips. 

It _was_ supposed to be a quick peck, just to shut Jisoo up but Lisa was craving for more. She gave another peck, and another, and then another. "This", peck, "isn't", peck, "helping", peck, "at", peck, "all".

_How addicting could one person be?_

Jisoo didn't respond, not in speaking terms, anyway. She slid her hand up the back of Lisa's head closed the distance between them, leaving Lisa no choice but to stop giving millisecond-long pecks. 

Lisa didn't know how long the kiss was, she wasn't able to count how many seconds before their tongues were involved, didn't know the minute when their teeth started clashing, didn't bother to check what hour they stopped. 

Because they wouldn't have stopped if Chaeyoung hadn't woken up with a loud "Jen, I'm hungry go make some food."

As silently as possible, Jisoo pulled away from Lisa with eyes closed and a smile on her face. Lisa almost let out a whine at the loss of contact. Almost.

Jisoo did a good show of stretching and yawning, before pulling down the blanket that was covering the both of them. "Good morning, Chaeng." 

After all that happened, Lisa was sure that this was just a fever dream, that any moment she'd wake up and find herself beside her good friend Jisoo who did not spend the last minutes? hours? kissing her. 

Any moment now, she'd wake up. 

Jisoo turned to look at her, and _any moment now, really, universe, wake me up._

Jisoo gave her the most disarming smile she ever saw. _This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a–_

"Did it work?" 

—

It was half past ten in the morning, and Lisa had her back slouched against the brick walls of somebody's house. Not that she was intruding on anything, Lisa merely chanced on an abandoned makeshift bench a few houses outside Jisoo's own. Speaking of, _Jesus_. 

Lisa closed her eyes, rocking her head back until she felt a soft throb as the back of her head hit the brick wall. She supposed the impact was supposed to hurt, but with all the thinking Lisa had going on in her head, she couldn't be bothered to entertain a new source of pain. She let out a long groan in attempt to silence her thoughts.

"Were the kisses that bad?" 

Another groan escaped Lisa's lips. She could hear the wooden bench creak when the newcomer sat beside her, their shoulders bumping. It was instinctual, at this point of their friendship (relationship, whatever this mess is), for Lisa to put her head on Jisoo's shoulder, angling her face to nuzzle against Jisoo's neck. 

"Don't know what to do." Lisa mumbled, feeling frustrated over everything that transpired within the last twelve hours. 

Jisoo took Lisa's clenched hand (of course she would) and began to play with it. Whatever Jisoo had in mind, it was working because as her fingers traced the veins on Lisa's hand, Lisa felt calmer and her thoughts weren't as loud as they were before.

"Did it work?" 

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Lisa tried to go for something snarkier as her comeback, but that was all she could think of, and it didn't work judging by the laugh that Jisoo gave.

"Were the kisses that bad?" Jisoo asked again and finished her question with a light kiss on the crown of Lisa's head. 

"I think my lips bled a little. You're a biter." Lisa mumbled, still hiding her face in the crook of Jisoo's neck (which was truly counterproductive because wasn't Jisoo the cause of her current predicament? _Well, whatever_.)

Jisoo stopped playing with Lisa's hand, and let it go almost immediately after Lisa's comment. Lisa was about to voice out her protest when she felt something soft against her lips. Delicately, as if she were almost afraid that it would bleed again, Jisoo traced the roughened contour of Lisa's lips. 

"I'm sorry." 

Lisa smiled against Jisoo's fingertips, "Don't be, I liked it." 

The slight sting from the flick of Jisoo's fingers against her lips was worth it, because when Lisa finally opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of a flustered Kim Jisoo. 

"And I like you; and you telling me to kiss you didn't really help me. At all." Lisa whined, poking Jisoo's cheeks just because.

"I thought it was a fluke. Maybe if you'd kiss me, you'd realize that no, you don't really like me." 

It was so casual, so off handed, that when Lisa would dissect this conversation later, she'd figure out that Jisoo truly didn't believe she was _that_ likeable. 

"Why wouldn't I like you?" 

Another shrug from Jisoo, and Lisa was already rolling her eyes. 

"You're stupid. I really like you. This is the third time I'm saying that today. Wow." Lisa fanned herself, surprised by her candor.

"Like me enough to make out with me?" Jisoo challenged, locking into Lisa's eyes

"Yeah, in case you forgot we already kinda did that." Lisa looked away, too embarrassed by the entirety of the conversation. _Oh look, there's grass sprouting on the pavement._

"Like me enough to make out with me even though our friends are sleeping in the same room?" At her periphery, she could see Jisoo wearing this shit-eating grin that made Lisa's blood boil.

"Like you enough to make out with you again, if that's what you're asking." Lisa eyes zeroed into Jisoo's and to her dismay, the shit-eating grin was still there.

"Okay." 

Lisa closed her eyes, rocking her head back until she felt a soft thump when the back of her head hit the brick wall. Lisa took a deep breath and:

"Kim Jisoo do you want me to die?!" Lisa shouted, her brain melting at the audacity of Jisoo's words. "Don't you –; Why are you–; This is so–" 

Jisoo let out a laugh, clearly enjoying the mumbled speech that Lisa gave. Lisa's eyes stayed shut, ignoring the stupidly beautiful girl beside her. 

"Lisa stop sleeping. The Uber's right around the corner." It was Jennie's voice, and when Lisa opened her eyes, she was greeted with Chaeyoung looking worriedly at her.

"Are you feeling okay? You look really red." _Sweet, sweet, Chaeyoung._

"Come to think of it, you didn't eat much during breakfast earlier. Is there anything wrong, Lis?" _Oh, Jennie._

"Huh. I have a stash of paracetamol back at the house. If you're going to get sick and have a fever, it will work." Jisoo, truly, is the current bane of Lisa's existence. Lisa spared Jisoo a glance and unsurprisingly, the shit-eating grin was still there. 

—

"Thanks for letting me crash in your apartment. The council meeting is still in four hours and I really wanna take a na—" 

Lisa cut off Jisoo's speech as soon as she managed to lock the door to her apartment. Lisa's body was leaning heavily on the locked door, her hands grabbing Jisoo by the wrists making her stupidly beautiful face crash right into hers. It was rough, with Lisa pouring out her frustrations into the kiss and Jisoo taking it all in. Jisoo's hands wiggled out of Lisa's grasp, and guilt suddenly poured in Lisa's mind. 

_Oh my god, what am I doing?_

Stopping her movements, Lisa braced for Jisoo's anger. Lisa's hands were now clenched into fists, her eyes tightly shut. What Lisa didn't expect was for Jisoo's hands to wander to her neck and waist, pulling them again into a kiss. Only this time, their bodies were closer than before.

_Oh my god, what are we doing?_

It was a fight, if they ever had any. Lips against lips, tongues battling out, their hands gripping on to each other.

It couldn't be helped, Lisa let out a moan.

Lisa felt the laugh before she heard it, with Jisoo pulling back just enough so it was her smile against Lisa's parted lips, with her shoulders slightly shaking against Lisa's palms as the laugh made its way out. Jisoo pressed her forehead against Lisa's and gave her an Eskimo kiss, making Lisa melt into the door.

"Hi." Jisoo let out, her voice deeper than normal. 

"Hi yourself." Lisa replied, before going in for another kiss. 

This time, it was slower. Like they were both trying to familiarize each other, finding out what angles worked, and how to dance with their tongues. Jisoo still bit, but this time she'd run it over with her tongue right after, an apology that Lisa would accept every time. Jisoo hands were entangled in Lisa's hair, with her arms hooked to Lisa's neck, and Lisa had one arm wrapped around Jisoo's waist with the other running up and down her back. 

They stopped, eventually, noticing that the sunlight that shone through the window was getting dimmer by the minute. 

"Okay, hi." Lisa said, fully wrapping Jisoo in a hug, her chin resting on Jisoo's shoulder, her eyes glaring at the setting sun. 

"Hi." Jisoo slid her hands from Lisa's hair and wrapped around Lisa's back as well. 

They stayed hugging for a moment, both recovering their breaths from their activity prior. "Do you want to take a nap before your meeting? I'm sorry you were saying something earlier before I cut you off." It was a half-baked apology at best because no, Lisa was not sorry for kissing Jisoo, not when kissing her was the constant thing on her mind for the past days.

It had been four days since their kiss, with the long weekend in between and Lisa having zero excuses to show up at Jisoo's house. Add the fact that her schedule was fully loaded yesterday so she wasn't able to see Jisoo, it was long enough to make Lisa question her sanity (and make her glare at the sun, as if glaring at it would make the sun set slower).

"What time is it? Can we have dinner before my meeting?" 

"Won't you have dinner at your place?"

"I wanna have dinner with you." 

Lisa hugged Jisoo tighter, doing her best to contain her squeal. 

"You keep doing things to me, it's not good for my health." Lisa said, playfully shoving Jisoo off her body. She made her way to her bed, securing that the bed cover was in place before giving Jisoo the go-signal to lie down.

"What exactly am I doing?" Jisoo asked, trying to find a comfortable position on Lisa's bed.

Lisa looked at Jisoo in wonder, not entirely sure if her friend was serious with her question or not. Lisa decided to ignore it, because Jisoo wasn't being weird and Lisa had no intentions of being weird as well. 

_Well, weirder._

"I'll wake you up by 6'o'clock, is that okay? We can have barbecue down the street." Lisa settled nicely in her study chair, her body angled towards the bed, towards Jisoo who was a sight for sore eyes. 

"That'll leave me with how many hours of napping?" Jisoo was getting drowsy, and sleepy Jisoo was cute. 

Lisa checked her phone and winced when she saw the time. 

"It'll leave you with a thirty-minute nap, actually. Err, thirty-three minutes if you fall asleep in the next few seconds."

During dinner, it would leave the chicken hanging from Jisoo's mouth when Lisa would reiterate that yes, they spent more than two hours standing just right behind Lisa's door; yes, it was nearer to two hours and a half if Jisoo would want to be all mathematical about it; and no, Lisa had no regrets about consuming Jisoo's precious nap time like that. Not that Jisoo regretted it anyway, or that's what Lisa would like to assume.

—

It had been going on for a few weeks now, their stolen kisses. 

_Ha, who am I kidding_. 

It had been going on for a few weeks now, their stolen make out sessions. They were discreet, with their kisses done only when they were alone, either in the privacy of Jisoo's room or Lisa's apartment. It was pretty much that as well– kissing and tongue. They never touched second base, and Lisa had no plan to initiate anything further. Jisoo never questioned Lisa's actions, nor did she bring up the topic of Lisa's crush again, which was perplexing to Lisa. She prided herself in knowing the ins and outs of Jisoo's mind more than anyone else, and Jisoo would probably agree with her that it was already Lisa, who she knew for less than two years, who got her. But despite knowing all things about Jisoo, Lisa still hasn't figured out what Jisoo wanted in life; well, in the romantic sense.

The secrecy Jisoo had with her romantic feelings were beyond Lisa's analyzing capabilities, which often lead her to short-circuited moments, such as:

"Wow. She's really pretty." 

Jisoo, who was busy comparing her exam answers with Jennie, raised her head from their exam sheets. "Who?" 

"That girl across the court. She looks cute." 

"Niki? Girl in the crop-top with flowy pants?" Chaeyoung added, squinting her eyes to see who Lisa was looking at.

"That's her name? Then yeah, her." Lisa's eyes were still on the girl, ignoring why her heart rate was suddenly increasing. _What am I nervous for?_

Deciding that Lisa's new crush was more important than their answers to the latest exam, Jennie closed the exam sheets she was holding and joined in the conversation. 

"I heard of her. She's single. I don't know if she'd swing your way though, but you can try." Lisa rolled her eyes at Jennie's statement. 

The three girls were oddly silent, all of them looking at the girl across the court. 

"I know her. You want me to introduce you?" Jisoo broke the silence, and Lisa could feel her heart drop. 

_Huh_.

"No, god no." Lisa hurriedly said, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disagreement. "Guys, I just said she looks cute." 

"You also said she was pretty." Chaeyoung shifted her eyes to Lisa, with a teasing grin on her face.

"Yeah, and you stared at her for the last five minutes." Jennie was smirking at Lisa as well, and with the duo's teasing, Lisa looked to Jisoo for support.

Jisoo locked into Lisa's eyes for a moment, her expression not showing anything. Lisa had no idea what was going on inside Jisoo's head. 

"Mm. You've been single for months now, maybe you'd wanna give it a go?" Jisoo asked, one of her eyebrows raised. Her arms were crossed against her chest, her hands, oddly, clenched. 

_Is she cold?_ Unconsciously, Lisa made her way towards Jisoo, before she registered what Jisoo was saying.

"Okay, foul. What does me being single for months mean?" Lisa was irritated by Jisoo's comment, disregarding the fact that what Jisoo said was technically true.

Jisoo didn't bother to answer, her attention now on her phone and the new text she just received. This irritated Lisa even more, and another short-circuited moment happened before she could prevent it.

"Alright, whatever, okay. Introduce me. To her." She plopped down beside Jisoo, who, despite being the source of her irritation was still the source of her comfort. She could feel Jisoo stiffen beside her, and Lisa assessed the air.

_Is it that cold?_

Lisa removed the jacket that was tied around her waist and offered it to Jisoo, who accepted it with a puzzled look.

"You looked cold." was Lisa's response to the unspoken question and Jisoo broke into a smile as she placed on Lisa's jacket. 

"Oooh, you hear that, Jen? Lisa wants to meet somebody new!" Chaeyoung teased from the opposite end of the kiosk and Jennie joined in right in. 

"Okay, I change my mind. Please don't." Lisa whined, embarrassed by how Jennie and Chaeyoung were teasing her. Lisa poked Jisoo's, trying to grab the latter's attention. "Please don't. I was just joking." 

The jacket must have warmed Jisoo because Lisa saw Jisoo's fist unclench. 

—

"You know, I really could introduce you to her." Jisoo said, her eyes fixated on the dark stain of Lisa's ceiling, right above her head.

Lisa shifted her body so that she was lying on her side to face Jisoo. Jisoo was serious, and Lisa was having none of it.

"No." Lisa wrapped her free arm around Jisoo's stomach and slung her leg over Jisoo's own. She could feel Jisoo relax to her touch. 

"Are you sure?" Lisa rolled her eyes at the question, and felt for Jisoo's hand, missing its warmth. Once her hand made its way into Jisoo's, Jisoo immediately began playing with it, making Lisa smile into Jisoo's neck. 

"Yes, I'm sure." 

It was silent, but with the way Jisoo was playing with Lisa's hand and how relaxed her body felt, Lisa felt comfortable. Almost as if she righted something wrong.

"Alright, whatever you want." Jisoo finally said, dozing off to sleep.

Lisa gave out a long sigh, which fell to deaf ears because Jisoo was already on her way to dreamland.

_You, I just want you_. 

* * *

_Maybe I went overboard with the go-with-the-flow strategy in life_.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lisa interrupted Jisoo's thoughts. Lisa paused the drama that was playing on the laptop, which was conveniently placed on top of Lisa's stomach. Jisoo, with her hands already on top of Lisa's stomach as well, pressed play again. 

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Focus on the show, silly." Jisoo said, scooting even closer to Lisa's side, extending her arm to wrap around Lisa's body fully. Her head was situated perfectly on top of Lisa's collarbone, and a small tilt upwards was enough to enable Jisoo to kiss Lisa's soft spot, which resulted in a small whine from the one beside her.

"Are we going to watch or—" Lisa paused the drama again, now focusing her eyes on Jisoo's.

Jisoo hummed, pondering on Lisa's question for a moment before pulling Lisa into a kiss, with one hand making sure the laptop wouldn't fall off the bed and another at the back of Lisa's nape. Lisa responded with much gusto, both of her hands roaming around Jisoo's back, like they were lost with no direction. 

When Lisa started picking up the pace, Jisoo decided to stop it. She settled back on her side of the bed and placing back her head on Lisa's collarbone. Positioning back the laptop on Lisa's stomach, she pressed play.

"We're going to watch."

Lisa laughed at Jisoo's statement, and shifted her gaze back to the ongoing drama, but not before planting a small kiss on Jisoo's forehead. 

—

The semester flew by fast, with the council work, exams, and Lisa piling on top of Jisoo's plate. They had around three weeks of winter break which meant it was three weeks of Jisoo not seeing Lisa which is fine, totally fine, super-duper absolutely–

"What do you mean by fine, dear?" Dara asked, concern morphing its way to her features with lips pursed and eyebrows meeting at the center. 

Jisoo could feel the water going down the wrong pipe when she heard her mother's question. She hadn't realized that she was speaking out loud. She gave her best smile to her mother, reassuring her that it was nothing. Jisoo was thankful for the waiter that appeared right after, who successfully got the attention of her mother with the bill.

They were having their annual start-of-the-year breakfast at a hotel which was, coincidentally, near Jisoo's university.

Dara believed that the key to maintaining harmony in the family was through shared meals, and ever since her children started college, the mealtimes were never synchronized. It didn't help that Jisoo's older siblings were already employed and Jisoo was the only one left in college, no, it only added to Dara's worry that their "familial bond" was getting weaker and weaker. Breakfast buffets, were, apparently the answer to the issue because no one in the family would ever say no to a buffet, albeit waking up early for it. It was all good, they did this once a year, it made their mother happy, it made their stomachs full, and Dara made sure to schedule their breakfast on the first holiday of the year– a local thanksgiving holiday which made the mother goose even more sentimental about their breakfasts.

Jisoo gave out a long exhale, looking fondly at her mother urging her siblings to go for another round. She was about to resume eating when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

[fr: Lisa 9:16 AM] hi

[fr: Lisa 9:16 AM] good morning :)

[fr: Lisa 9:16 AM] kinda slept early last night

[fr: Lisa 9:16 AM] you're doing the breakfast thing today with your fam, right?

[fr: Lisa 9:17 AM] how's the breakfast? :>

_This is fine_. 

[to: Lisa 9:17 AM] good morning :) 

[to Lisa 9:17 AM] i don't think sleeping at 3 in the morning is sleeping early

[to Lisa: 9:17 AM] yeah breakfast here at the hotel near uni

[to Lisa 9:17 AM] croissants are to die for, imo. the hashbrowns are good too

[to Lisa 9:18AM] why are you up so early it's like 9am

_This is totally fine._

[fr Lisa 9:18 AM] sleeping at 3 is early. i bet you slept at 5. i didn't get to say good night :(

[fr Lisa 9:18 AM] now im hungry gimme food :( 

_This is super-duper absolutely—_

[fr Lisa 9:18 AM] just arrived at the apartment, bring me food? 

"Hi." As soon as Jisoo opened the door to Lisa's apartment, she was tackled into a hug by the blonde. Jisoo barely managed to place the croissants she brought on Lisa's dining table before returning the hug as well.

"Hi, kinda missed you." It was merely a whisper because Jisoo's lips were too near Lisa's ear and anything louder would probably hurt Lisa's hearing. 

"Well, _I_ missed you. Not kinda. I really did. Miss you." Lisa's was very serious with her statement, and Jisoo felt good in the best of ways.

She had her face snuggled against Lisa’s neck, and Jisoo could smell the distinct smell of air fresheners that went with international travels, and underneath it something fruity, which was Lisa's scent. Lisa's soap, to be exact, because Lisa doesn't like putting on cologne or perfumes. Jisoo could feel Lisa's hands roaming, something the latter always did when she was in a _mood_ , and Jisoo indulged. Their kisses were rushed, both trying to reacquaint themselves from the grand total of seventeen days apart from each other. Lisa was slowly going backwards, pulling Jisoo with her, until she reached her bed. Jisoo eyed the croissants on the table, and before Jisoo could ask if Lisa wanted to eat first, Lisa's lips were already on Jisoo's neck. 

_Croissants be damned_.

She never knew it was possible to miss somebody this much, even with her being on top of Lisa and kissing the girl nonstop, it wasn't enough to curb the longing Jisoo felt. Lisa's hands were at the hem of Jisoo's shirt, dancing around, asking for permission, while her lips were busy making trails (still!) on Jisoo's neck. 

_I need more contact_.

Jisoo's hands flitted from Lisa's hair and went right under Lisa's shirt, tracing nothings on Lisa's stomach. Inexperienced as she was, there was this instinct to go higher; to touch more uncharted territories. Lisa wasn't one to be left behind, because as soon as Jisoo touched her, her hands moved under Jisoo's shirt as well, and _god, why does this feel so good_. 

"Can I?" The tips of Jisoo's fingers were already at the underside of Lisa's bra, grazing here and there while waiting for Lisa's answer. As soon as Lisa nodded it was unclasped; and for Jisoo, learning new things were never this fun. 

It went on, with the two exploring and experimenting among themselves, but it still wasn't enough. 

_More_ , _more, more._

It was Jisoo's thoughts, but she was sure Lisa panted it out aloud. Jisoo was hovering over Lisa, smiles exchanged in between kisses. When she moved to angle her body to complement Lisa's position, a miscalculation on her part made her knee touch against Lisa's center. Jisoo's eyes widened, but Lisa's were tightly shut. Jisoo was about to mutter an apology, afraid that she hurt Lisa when Lisa let out a moan. 

Oh. 

_Oh._

It clicked, and Jisoo suddenly knew how to finally curb herself of the longing she felt. Because all the kisses, the neck bites, and fondles weren't enough. It would never be enough, not when Lisa was now staring at her with eyes wide open, looking at Jisoo like she had the answers to how fireworks exploded in the sky. 

"Can I?" Jisoo asked again, this time with the tips of her fingers on Lisa's jeans. When Lisa said yes, Jisoo didn't hold back.

"Rest." Jisoo grumbled, her face buried deep into Lisa's pillow. Lisa's hand was tracing circles on her back, slowly going lower and lower. As much as Jisoo wanted it (again), she tried to push it away but with the strength from her limbs gone, it was merely a tap.

"What about you?" Lisa was tired as well, Jisoo could hear that much from her voice. 

"Some other time, we have time, you're here." Lisa's laugh was a melody that Jisoo liked to hear playing, only for it to be overpowered by the grumble from Lisa's stomach. 

Jisoo gave Lisa a light shove with the remaining energy left in her, urging Lisa to go and eat the croissants that were far from being warm and fresh. At least that would give Lisa's stomach something.

The nagging thoughts in Jisoo's mind came on full force after the room went silent save for Lisa's loud munches from the table at the center. Jisoo didn't know what came over her (false, she _really_ missed Lisa) but whatever, what's done was done and Lisa didn't have any complains. They were two consenting adults at this point but on to what they consented to, Jisoo wasn't entirely sure because yes, Lisa has (had?) a crush on her back then but that was months ago, and it was never brought up again. 

_So, is this like, a friends-with-benefits type of thing?_

She berated herself, because what was once something she cringed at on Hallmark movies crept up and became the central plot in her life. Lisa was, honestly, a godsend for Jisoo. She didn't even know she needed a Lisa Manoban in her life, with having a dependable friend, stellar grades, and parents who were supportive financially, Jisoo really thought she didn't need anything more in her life. But Lisa came in the picture and, _wow_. 

"You're looking at me weird. I don't have a hickey, don't I? Oh my god please tell me you didn't give me a hickey." Lisa's free hand crept up to her neck, in slight panic. 

"No, you don't. I'm not looking at you weird, loser. Finish your food and come back here." Jisoo scolded herself for staring at Lisa for too long (or, Jisoo scolded herself for getting caught) and returned her face back to the pillow. 

It wasn't even a first-bump-papers-fell-and-hearts-fell kind of thing, it was more of cooking rice. Slow to burn, even slower to rise, and it's all frothy, just light-hearted fun. Then suddenly the whole dynamic shifted, somebody between them switched it from cooking to warm, and Jisoo felt it– she felt so warm. She didn't know she needed a Lisa Manoban in her life, but whenever Lisa lent an ear to listen to Jisoo rant about anything under the sun, Jisoo felt that maybe she's a good person, having someone like Lisa. When Jisoo would rant _particularly_ about the hidden burden of her grades and council work (Hey, I'm sorry, please tell me if it's overbearing; What, no, hey, please tell me everything) and the issues she had with her family (which, surprisingly, she didn't even know was eating her up until she confided it with Lisa), Jisoo felt that she must have done something good in her past life, to have someone like Lisa now. 

"Do you want ramen and some cheese bombs for dinner?" 

Aside from listening to Jisoo, Lisa really, _really_ , pays attention to her as well. 

"Yeah, okay. What do you mean dinner? Shouldn't we have lunch first? I arrived at ten in the morning." 

"You had me for lunch. Apparently, us sucking faces is a time-machine because it's already seven in the evening." Lisa laughed at her own joke, and Jisoo couldn't help but throw a pillow at her.

_The sense of humor is questionable_. 

—

Lisa reasoned out that she arrived days earlier before enrollment because she wanted to sort her stuff, that she wanted to do a spring-cleaning thing, and Jisoo rolled her eyes at the excuses Lisa gave. It didn't really matter, because Lisa was here, they still had no classes or coursework between them, so it simply was her, Lisa, and Lisa's bed. Sometimes the cushions on the floor by the dining table, if Jisoo were to be painstakingly honest. Her parents didn't question her anymore, on why their child was already out of the house by seven in the morning only to return home by midnight.

It was addicting, this new level that Jisoo unlocked. 

Lisa was no better, if Jisoo could say so herself. The blonde was constantly bombarding her with messages if they weren't together, and if they were together, it was either she was being a baby or was busy babying Jisoo– there was no in between. Jisoo wouldn't have it any other way, despite how much she'd complain about it.

And yet, there was no mention of what they were. 

_Let's go with the flow_.

Jisoo surrendered her thoughts to the universe, to the great unkown, because whatever this thing with Lisa was was already beyond her level of understanding, and maybe if it had been anybody else, this wouldn't be a problem. But no, this was Lisa, the Lisa who had Jisoo's new schedule memorized before she memorized her own; the Lisa who had Jisoo's favorite books listed down in her own notes app because she had plans to read them as well; the Lisa who'd always offer her her shoulder to sleep on, her ear to rant off to, and her apartment to crash in; the Lisa who she shared two of her closest friends with. A lot were on the line, and Jisoo would not budge.

Not if she could help it. 

If Jennie and Chaeyoung noticed anything shift between Lisa and Jisoo, they didn't comment on it. Well, aside from the side-eyes whenever Lisa would do something corny to get Jisoo's attention and whenever Jisoo would randomly look for Lisa when Lisa _clearly_ was not there, nothing changed. Not that the side-eyes were anything new, it started well before Jisoo treaded the waters on feelings for Lisa; she just didn't give it much thought before. Before. 

"What's wrong, Chu?" Jennie asked.

Before Lisa was openly giggling at some random guy's lame jokes some twenty feet away from them, the side-eyes didn't really matter. Who was that guy, anyway? 

"You two idiots keep exchanging glances, you'd think you guys are committing some kind of crime." Jisoo said with one of her eyebrows raised in question. Her eyes coolly went over to Lisa was, okay, whatever.

Lisa laughed louder this time, and the two had their eyes meet again. Jisoo was getting annoyed, by what exactly she couldn't say. 

"Are you okay, Jis" Chaeyoung asked, her arm draping over Jisoo's shoulders, pulling Jisoo into a side-hug. 

Jisoo stiffened at the question, unsure on how to respond. Did these two know something she didn't? More importantly, did it matter? She felt her heart clench, at the sight of Lisa talking with whoever, but Jisoo couldn't really say anything against that, because, well, whatever. They were friends before anything else, Jisoo was single, Lisa was single. _Why the fuck is that guy holding Lisa's phone?_ Sure, they kissed from time to time (an understatement, they spent their breaks doing more exploring than Christopher Columbus did in his lifetime), but that didn't mean anything. _Why the fuck is Lisa so smiley with him?_ Anyway, it wasn't Lisa's fault if she was on Jisoo's mind 24/365. _Hey boy, watch it with your touch-feely hands._ Jisoo was fuming at this point, the boy had casually patted Lisa's shoulder and it didn't do anything good for Jisoo's head. 

"Lisa, we're going to the mall. Bye, girl!" Jennie was already shouting, and Chaeyoung was pushing Jisoo into the taxi that she hailed moments prior. 

These two definitely knew something she didn't. That she _and_ Lisa didn't know, judging by the questioning texts Lisa sent her almost immediately, and as much as Jisoo wanted to ignore the girl, Jisoo could never leave Lisa on read. Lisa didn't go after them, not that Jisoo asked her to. Jisoo never knew what Lisa did after they left her, not that Lisa bothered to tell her (ha, pft, whatever). 

—

The guy's name was Mark, and Jisoo hated the name immediately. If she hated the fact that she got the name from Chaeyoung rather than Lisa herself, Jisoo didn't know (and didn't want to know). She also noticed that something would tick in her mind every time Lisa would mention his name, noticed how her mood would suddenly shift into something foul whenever she'd see Mark either physically or on the screen of Lisa's phone. It didn't make sense, and suddenly, Jisoo didn't want to go with the flow anymore. Not like this, not with Lisa spending her lunch time with Mark and his friends, not with Jisoo being hung up on the fact that Lisa had other people consuming her time (because that's okay, really, Jisoo didn't have the monopoly of Lisa's time, but why the fuck did she spend it with Mark? Bamabam's a good friend! Even that Kwon guy is leagues better than Mark. Anybody but Mark.).

Jisoo didn't like the person she was becoming.

She started distancing herself, well, at least she tried to. Jisoo threw herself into things that weren't Lisa-related. Council meetings became an escape of sorts, there were always things to be done, anyway. Her books were opened more these days, with her ink refills getting depleted at a faster rate as she powered through the reading materials. Her parents noticed that she was at home earlier than usual. The bar was already low; any time is earlier than twelve midnight. 

All that, and yet, she still found herself in Lisa's bed during long breaks, regardless if Lisa was there or not. The apartment was now as much Jisoo's as it was Lisa's, with Jisoo having the spare key (what if you wanna nap and I'm in class? It's way easier, I don't leave class and you get to nap), with bars of KitKat stacked next to packs of Kinder Bueno (oh, I bought KitKats too since you keep complaining that my Kinders suck), and a small space in the closet dedicated for her (you do know that's my shirt, right? I'll let this pass because it looks good on you). 

It was a tug of war in her mind, because as much as she wanted to be far from Lisa and all the confusing feelings she'd get, Lisa was still Lisa. Lisa, the person that was pure amidst all the shit she experienced in her life; the person who would tirelessly hype up Jisoo in all things (even though Jisoo didn't deserve the hype); the outgoing, binge-drinking, nearly there drop-out who was simply doing everything she could to get by. For Jisoo to disappear completely from Lisa's life, even just for a while, would be stupid and uncalled for. It would only hurt them both. 

_Not like she knows what she's doing to me, anyway. That's entirely on me._

So, yes, Jisoo distanced herself, but then again not really. It was all so confusing; and more importantly, it was all in Jisoo's head. It's not like she was brave enough to tell Lisa to stop hanging out with Mark (because Jisoo might see red but a friend is a friend and who was she to deny Lisa a friend) nor was she brave enough to ask Lisa what they had (Lisa _did_ confess to liking her, and it was Jisoo who was stupid to tell her to kiss her instead of dealing with the confession itself). It wasn't just confusing, it was all very frustrating.

Busy with her thoughts, her feet were on autopilot and _woop_ , she was already at Lisa's door.

She opened the door slowly, it was around three in the afternoon, about half an hour since her last class ended. It had been an hour since Lisa's last text and Jisoo spent the last thirty minutes weighing if she would just go home or go _home_. In the end, Jisoo gave a big fuck you to her mind, because she was tired of depriving herself from the comfort Lisa gave her. 

She walked in on a set of Chinese takeout left on the table untouched, and a lump that was vaguely Lisa's body on the bed. 

"Took you long enough." Lisa's voice was muffled, either she was fresh from crying or she was face-down on the pillow. Jisoo would learn later that it was both.

"I thought you wanted to sleep; I didn't want to disturb you." Jisoo said, her back leaning against the door frame. 

The blanket was pulled down enough to reveal Lisa's face, which made Jisoo regret her last statement. Lisa looked hurt, with her lips and cheeks on a full pout, her eyes narrowed as she shot a glare in Jisoo's direction. Getting the go-signal, Jisoo kicked off her shoes and made her way to Lisa's bed, placing her bag at the foot of the bed before making Lisa scoot over. Their bodies molded together immediately, with months of snuggling perfecting how they'd cuddle. Jisoo planted a kiss on Lisa's forehead, and it eventually turned to a multitude of pecks on Lisa's face which eventually changed the pout into a smile. 

"You're stupid." _You'd never disturb me_ ; it wasn't said but Lisa had her ways of expressing the sentiment.

Her way involved open-mouthed kisses starting from Jisoo's neck, and ultimately, down to Jisoo's core. 

"Where'd you get the Chinese takeout?" Jisoo asked, after they regained their breaths.

Their bodies were covered by a thin sheet of sweat, something hopefully the fan on Lisa's ceiling could cool down. Thankfully, Lisa's blankets were thin because Jisoo didn't have any energy to pick up their discarded clothes on the floor just yet. Nor did Lisa, judging from the sleepy look she gave her. Lisa closed her eyes, and wait, _is she wincing?_

"Mark wanted to have lunch but I didn't feel like it, so he dropped off some takeout." Lisa opened her eyes slightly, to gauge Jisoo's reaction; not that her facial expression made any difference because the limbs that were entangled in Lisa's already stiffened at Lisa's statement. The arm's grips a little tighter, the leg over hers a little heavier.

"We're friends." Lisa said as if that would explain anything; really, _what do you even mean by that?_

"We're friends as well." It was heavier than Jisoo intended, but she _wanted_ Lisa to understand how all of this was confusing her. 

"Yeah well," Lisa shifted on the bed, propping herself on her forearms for support, and suddenly Jisoo found herself looking up to meet Lisa in the eye. "You're Jisoo, and that makes all the difference." 

They went for another round, and maybe another, not that it makes a difference. Eventually, the food was eaten and Jisoo, for the first time in her life, was thankful for Mark's existence. 

"What are you doing tomorrow after your council meeting?" Lisa asked, her hands gently swaying Jisoo's as she held on to them.

"I'll probably go home. Irene said it should end before lunch time because we deserve to have a portion of our Saturdays to ourselves, or something along that line." Jisoo leaned against the door, pulling Lisa towards her. A small kiss on the lips. "Why?"

"Let's have lunch tomorrow then. Maybe I'd let you go with me for my grocery run after if you won't be a bitch." This time, it was Lisa who gave a kiss. 

"Only if you stock up on the chocolates, my stash is getting low." Their bodies were swaying now, with Lisa leading the dance. Jisoo followed, she'd probably follow her anywhere. 

"Then we'll get back here for pizza and a movie?" Lisa's suggestion was casual, but after all the things in Jisoo's mind, it felt like she was committing to something more.

"Sure, I'll download the top movies available." Jisoo gave Lisa one last kiss before turning the knob, she really needed to go home. She also needed to tease Lisa because she looked like a kicked puppy once Jisoo took a step backward. "Don't miss me too much." 

—

Jisoo could feel somebody's shadow cast on her own, blocking the light from shining on her laboratory report (that was due next week, but that's irrelevant). Before she could ask who, she felt an arm wrap around her torso, pulling her entire body backwards, into the intruder's embrace. Half-embrace. 

"What is it, Chaeyoung?" Jisoo asked, pretending to be irritated. 

"I miss you." Chaeyoung said, her chin parked on top of Jisoo's head. 

Jisoo suddenly felt guilty. In her sad (really sad) attempt of distancing herself from Lisa, she may have forgotten to spend time with her other friends as well. She leaned back into Chaeyoung's embrace, closing her eyes, not quite ready to meet Chaeyoung's pouty face.

"I'm sorry, I've been busy." It was technically true, but at the same time, it wasn't. "Wanna eat at the stupid ramen place after I finish this report? My treat." She could feel Chaeyoung's hug tighten in agreement.

"Then can we do a karaoke session afterwards? First one to score a rating of anything below eighty pays for the karaoke?" Jisoo loved Chaeyoung, she really did. 

—

"There's something you're not telling me." Chaeyoung stated. Okay, maybe Jisoo didn't love Chaeyoung _that_ much. 

"What do you mean?" Choosing to play it dumb made Jisoo get this far in life, so what was another day more. 

They were seated in a room cramped with a loveseat screwed to the floor, a television monitor screwed to the wall, with an attached karaoke machine right beneath the TV screen in its own little jail. A small coffee table was in between the couch and monitor, and on top was a bucket of beer, contents almost empty; and a bucket of fries, which was already empty. They were winding down from the past two hours of intense singing, content to watch to watch those weird Zepeto animations on the screen as music played through the speakers that, unsurprisingly, were screwed to the corners of the wall. 

"This is either a Mark thing or a Lisa thing, and considering you keep getting mad at Mark for god-knows-why, I'm betting that it's a Lisa thing." Chaeyoung was busy looking at the twirling bottle of beer in her hand, but her body was angled towards Jisoo and Jisoo knew that Chaeyoung was eyeing her at the periphery of her vision. 

Jisoo wanted to say:

Lisa kissed me one-time last year, oh you guys were also there by the way, but you were still sleeping; then the kisses became a regular thing. But that's not all because when Lisa arrived from Thailand this year, I upped it with sex and now we're sorta having it regularly but we never discuss feelings because she doesn't bring it up and I don't wanna bring it up? I was totally jealous of the Niki girl so you can imagine how my head hurts at the thought of that M guy. I don't even wanna say his name. Why are you saying his name?

But she didn't, because for one, Chaeyoung was Lisa's friend as well and that would indirectly burden Chaeyoung into picking a side if she knew what was going on; and second, Chaeyoung _is_ Lisa's friend as well and that would mean she'd spread Lisa's secret too. Considering everything, it felt wrong. Telling on her situation with Lisa with a mutual friend felt wrong. The solution to this, was to talk it out with Lisa. Really. 

Jisoo looked at the beer in her hand, it was still filled to a third, but she downed it all in one gulp. It was only a few degrees centigrade below room temperature, and the fizzle was long gone. It was shit, the beer tasted like shit.

"It's–," Jisoo began, wincing as the molten liquid made its way down her throat, "something." Chaeyoung wasn't stupid, and Jisoo wasn't about to lie to one of her closest friends. "It's not about Mark; it's not about Lisa exactly as well."

Silence. 

"I think, this is on me." Jisoo admitted for the first time out loud and even though Chaeyoung didn't know what _exactly_ she was talking about, her heavy hand on Jisoo's thigh felt comforting.

Jisoo placed her bottle of beer on the table and sat back into the couch, hugging her crossed legs, making herself smaller than she usually is. It took a split second, maybe even less, for Chaeyoung to go near and engulf her in a huge hug. 

"Okay." Jisoo didn't cry, but she could feel her heart swell from both Chaeyoung's embrace and the fact that she admitted it to the universe that yeah, her current predicament is totally on her. Maybe this was a step in the right direction. 

After Jisoo settled the bill (it didn't matter who scored low in karaoke, that machine always gives 100 points by the decibels anyway), she felt her phone vibrate. She had some fifteen unread messages, but the latest one was the text that caught her eye.

[fr: Lisa 10:37 PM] hi, mark is gonna crash in my apartment tonight

Jisoo didn't know how long she was standing by the counter, gripping her phone in one hand and holding the counter in the other, for support. It must have been long enough, because when Chaeyoung called her out, she could feel her legs getting number and she could see her hand paler than usual, her grip cutting off the normal circulation. 

"Jisoo? You screwed to the ground or something?" 

—

In the most surprising of ways, Niki actually became more than an acquaintance to Jisoo. She was one of the council members of her department, so when university-wide council meetings happened, they'd see each other and hey, Niki was a nice girl, Jisoo was a nice girl; it was easy to become friends. Well, something more than an acquaintance but less than a friend, per se. 

"Our department is going to have a showcase; you should totally get the science majors to check it out." Niki said, as they were both making their way out of the auditorium. 

Jisoo nodded absentmindedly, already thinking of how she could enjoin the lab geeks (to be fair, she was one too) to actually get out of the laboratory and mingle with other people far from their comfort zone. Because if there was something opposite of the spectrum of education from hard science, it would, of course, be the fine arts. 

"Speaking of checking things out," Niki grabbed Jisoo by the arm, effectively making Jisoo spin to face her, "Do you wanna be my model?" The up-and-down look Niki gave her was far from seducing, despite her (failed) innuendo. 

Jisoo gave out a laugh before shaking her head. "Why me? People in Fine Arts aren't short on the beauty section, you should know, that's your department." 

It was Niki's turn to laugh. "Jisoo, if we all model, then who will do our outputs?" 

Oh, right, that made total sense. Jisoo blushed in embarrassment and was about to say something when she was cut-off.

"That blonde girl, do you know her? She's looking at us weird." Niki was looking at someone behind Jisoo, and it didn't take Jisoo two braincells to figure out which blonde was looking for her.

Jisoo gave Lisa a big wave with her free hand, gesturing her to come over. Lisa did the exact opposite– with her lips wearing a frown and her nose all scrunched up, she turned and made her way to... Jisoo didn't exactly know where. Giving Niki a quick apology and goodbye, Jisoo semi-jogged-semi-brisk-walked her way in Lisa's direction. Eventually, Jisoo's short strides were fast enough to catch-up with the long-legged blonde. And, as easy as taking another step, Jisoo slipped her hand into Lisa's. If Jisoo wasn't so worried about Lisa's weird demeanor, she would've appreciated how smooth her hand-holding skills got; but she _was_ worried about Lisa's weird demeanor, so she didn't realize it. Lisa did, though. Jisoo's hand in hers was enough to make the frown relax a bit, and more importantly, for her to stop walking.

"Hi." Jisoo said, smiling up meeting Lisa's eyes. It was nice, having someone wait up for her and that nice feeling overpowered the supposed annoyance Jisoo should've had with Lisa's behavior earlier.

"Hey." It was a pitch lower than Lisa's normal voice, and realizing that she was sulking, she tried to change it right after. "Hi. Dinner?" Added a smile there too, and a small squeeze to Jisoo's hand.

"Yeah, dinner. You pick where." It was going to be a happy night, Jisoo decided. "That was Niki earlier. I was gonna introduce you!" 

Jisoo could swear on her upcoming exam that she saw Lisa roll her eyes. Lisa mumbled something under her breath, too low for Jisoo to catch.

"What? Stop being grumpy. I'll introduce you next time, okay?" 

"No need." Lisa glanced at Jisoo's arm and let out another mumble.

"If you're going to keep on mumbling, I'm taking my hand away." Jisoo could _not_ believe she just said that, but she did, and it seemed the to be the right decision because this time, Lisa spoke louder. But still, she could not believe she said that. That line was very... not Jisoo, at all.

"I said," Lisa took in a deep breath, as if what she was saying was something so repulsive to her entire being that she needed to prepare for the statement, "It looked like she was hitting on you." 

"She was, in her weird way." Jisoo had a fleeting inkling that she should be offended by Lisa's statement, but she brushed it off. "She asked me if I could model for her."

Lisa hummed, urging Jisoo to continue.

"Well, the conversation kinda ended there because someone decided to storm off." Jisoo teased, earning another eye roll from Lisa. 

"Will you? Model for her?" 

"No, I don't think I have enough time. I'm busy enough as it is." 

"You're constantly napping, among other things, at the apartment, you liar." 

"Like I said, I'm busy enough as it is." Jisoo said, letting go of Lisa's hand only to link their arms together. "Could you walk faster? I'm hungry." 

—

In the end, Jisoo never got to formally introduce Lisa to Niki because for some reason, Lisa avoided Niki like the plague, and if she didn't, she was looking at Niki like _she_ was the plague. It was all very confusing to Kim Jisoo. Jennie was a better case, because she ended up taking the modeling stint instead, and if she bagged some boys as well, Jisoo felt sorry for the boys. One word from Chaeyoung (Jen, where are you I'm hungry), and the date ends just like that; okay to be fair, one word from any of them and Jennie would ditch the boys, but more often than not, it was Chaeyoung looking for Jennie when she was coincidentally on dates.

The perplexing case of their situation continued as well, with the sex and cuddles, and sometimes, just honest-to-goodness lazy afternoon naps in Lisa's twin-sized bed. Only this time, their situation now had Lisa waiting outside Jisoo's classrooms on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and Jisoo waiting outside Lisa's classrooms on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jisoo made it a point to bring extra sandwiches from home every morning, placing it on Lisa's desk on days they had the same morning classes, and on days they didn't– well, she left home a little earlier than normal so that she could catch Lisa in her apartment to hand her the extra sandwiches from home (no, she didn't make them especially for Lisa, she's not that whipped. Pfft. Please.) (Maybe she did, but whatever, Lisa needs to eat breakfast.) Lunches were a hit or miss, college did that to people, and it was all good. Dinner was always spent together. Always. Unless there was some emergency council meeting that had to get extended for whatever reason Irene had in mind, or Lisa was roped into something by Bambam that she couldn't get out of, it was spent together. It wasn't imposed, nothing in their situation ever was, but it felt right. 

—

"Hi, hey, I'm not at uni right now." Lisa said, her tone indecipherable. "Uhh, I'm with Mark. We're at a bar down south."

"Hey, are you there?" 

"Hey... don't forget to eat your dinner, alright?" 

"Do... umm... are you still there? Is everything okay?"

_No, this isn't right._ "Uh, sorry, I kinda lost you." _Kim Jisoo this has been going on for almost a year_. "Yeah, okay. I'm going to catch the bus home now."

Jisoo could hear Lisa exhale in relief when she spoke. "Take care, okay? Text me when you'll get home." 

Jisoo pocketed her phone shortly after the call ended, her voices arguing in her head. At this point, it felt like her issue with Lisa and their lack of label was water placed constantly at 90 degrees centigrade, and nothing cooler. Any mention of Mark (god, Jisoo hated that name) and the stove in Jisoo's mind would shoot up, boiling over the water well under five minutes. The boiling water would inevitably spill, and Jisoo would always, _always_ , get burned– in her mind, anyway. Probably in her heart as well, or chest to be more accurate about it. It was getting hard to breathe, with a squeezing discomfort at the left side of her chest, and okay _wow,_ is heartbreak a real thing? She felt mad. Mad at herself for letting the situation reach this, mad at Lisa for spending time with Mark, mad at Mark for... well, existing. Immediately after, Jisoo would then redirect the anger to herself, because Mark never did anything wrong, he was just being a friend (whatever their friendship with Lisa is, whatever, whatever); and because Lisa should always be free to hang out with whoever she wants to (Jisoo, please get that through your head!). This is all so stupid, truly, undoubtedly stupid. 

[to: Lisa Manoban 8:10 PM] home

[fr: Lisa Manoban 8:10 PM] heyyy :) happy to hear that. eat dinner?

What's even more stupid, Jisoo realized, is how she smiled, despite the fact that her mind was still messy and her chest was still hurting, and her hands are somewhat shaking, when Lisa replied instantly– as if she was actually waiting on her phone for Jisoo's text, despite being in the company of others.

—

It had been a few weeks since Jisoo's meltdown in the bus, and frankly, she was doing better. She was! The semester was ending, and everybody was busy cramped up in the library or in their case, the coffee shop just outside the university. Academic requirements, Jisoo figured, worked perfectly to distract her from more pressing matters. 

"How much did you score on your trig's final exam again?" Lisa asked, glaring daggers at her book. 

"A ninety? Something like that." Jisoo said, looking up from her flash cards which contained equations of their own (Genetics, a class Lisa couldn't take yet because she failed a pre-requisite class).

"This is my second take on this damned trigonometry class. Why do science majors need to take this shit when we did this in high school?" Lisa was starting her speech, and Jisoo let her be– it was just Lisa's way of calming down her anxiety.

Once Lisa was done, Jisoo gave her a small smile. She propped her elbows on the table and cradled her face with her palms. She was aiming for something cute, and it was working judging by how Lisa couldn't suppress the grin that was forming on her face.

"Tell you what, if you beat me, I'll treat you." 

"Treat me to what? You're asking me, a second taker on college level Trigonometry, to get a score of ninety-one or above? Your treat better be good." 

"Name it." Jisoo said, matching the grin that was on Lisa's face. 

"What if I want a trip to Jeju Island? Let's get some cheap accommodations and explore the place." Lisa challenged.

"Then I say you better study your ass off if you want that trip so bad." 

—

"I can't believe you actually brought us to Jeju Island. Jeju! Island!" Lisa screamed, squirming in the sheets. 

"You got a ninety-three! A deal is a deal." Jisoo said, as if it was nothing from her end. It actually took her entire semester's savings, plus some two weeks of gathering up the courage to ask permission from her parents that she was going on a trip with friends. Yes, mother and father dear, friends! Haha! Multiple people. Well, that and a compilation of Jisoo's graded exam papers. Look, mother and father dearest, I'm still doing good in school! Let me go on a trip! 

They settled in and took the remainder of the day to explore the spots they could go to by foot. It was all enjoyable, Lisa had her camera with her and was hellbent on taking good pictures; and Jisoo just really enjoyed spending time with Lisa.

"You're looking at me weird." Jisoo was at the foot of the bed, busy drying her hair from the bath she just took. 

"How would you know? I'm behind you." 

"I can feel it, stupid. It's like you're boring holes into my back." Lisa let out a small tut, and Jisoo knew she won. 

Well, sort of. She was about to gloat about catching Lisa staring when she felt Lisa embracing her from behind, her fingers already untying the bathrobe covering Jisoo. 

"I wasn't actually 'boring holes into your back'." The last tug and Jisoo's bathrobe opened.

"Uh huh, what were you doing then?" Jisoo asked, closing her eyes shut as Lisa started her ministrations.

"Enjoying the view." That was enough for Jisoo to turn around and press Lisa to the bed. 

"Aren't you cheeky." Jisoo slowly undid the buttons of Lisa's flannel shirt, clothes were irrelevant in the direction they were headed anyway. 

This time, it was slow. It was committing to memory what they already knew, what they already practiced time and time again. Mouth on mouth, tongues dancing with each other, one hand intertwined with the other's. Jisoo was teasing, grinding herself on to Lisa's core, knowing that it drove Lisa mad with want. One digit went in smoothly, then another. Maybe because of the pace, or maybe because of the look on Lisa's face, but Jisoo knew this night would be special. Another finger in, and her thumb was in action as well, teasing the clit whenever it would match Lisa's thrusts. 

"You're going to kill me." Lisa panted, free hand trying to go down to Jisoo's core. (And Jisoo wanted it, she wanted it so bad, but not yet.)

"I'm not, just enjoy it. You can do me later." Jisoo said, before she went down. 

"You're amazing. Like star-stuff amazing." Lisa said, her breath tickling Jisoo's ear. 

Jisoo hummed in response, tired from everything they did earlier. They were still naked, with Lisa spooning her beneath the covers. A small voice at the back of her mind told her that they should really get changed– it would probably get cold soon. 

"Can I ask something?" 

"You're already asking something." Jisoo jested, which earned her a light slap on the thigh (to which Lisa immediately caressed afterwards). 

"Smartass." Lisa was silent for a moment, and then, "Will you be my girlfriend?" 

Jisoo was ready with another snarky comment to whatever Lisa was going to ask– _oh wait what._ Jisoo rolled over to face Lisa, and she saw that Lisa was serious. And nervous, but mostly, serious. 

"Me... your..." Jisoo was finding it hard to articulate, maybe she exhausted her tongue too much, maybe she just never thought this time would actually come. "... girlfriend?"

A nod. 

"Kim Jisoo, will you be my girlfriend?" Lisa asked again.

What Jisoo wanted to say was: 

"Yes."

What Jisoo said was:

"But what about Mark?" Ah, Mark, the greatest thorn in Jisoo's head ever since she came to knew of his existence. She was totally unprepared for Lisa's question, mostly because she never allowed herself to imagine what it would be like if Lisa actually asked her. She didn't even entertain the thought that she was still Lisa's crush.

"Wait, so you _still_ have a crush on me?" Jisoo followed-up, and that was enough to break Lisa's serious face. 

"Of course, I have a crush on you, you stupid, stupid, stupid, rank one but still stupid, being." Lisa said, and with the way she said it, Jisoo did feel stupid about her question but hey, she their set-up wasn’t really clear.

It grew silent, with Jisoo's first question hanging in the air between them. 

"I never lied to you, Mark was, Mark _is_ a friend." Then, Lisa turned shy; "I sort of made friends with him to make you jealous–"

Jisoo's eyes went wide, all the exhaustion from the travelling and sex they did vanishing into thin air. She didn't know where she got the energy, but the next thing she knew, she was straddling Lisa and hitting Lisa her pillow. 

A hit on the stomach "Are!", a hit on the right shoulder "You!", a hit on the left shoulder "Serious?!".

Lisa had her arms crossed in front of her face, scared that it was what Jisoo would hit next (it was, acutally, then Jisoo saw Lisa's pout). Jisoo let go of the pillow in her possession and crossed her arms over her chest instead. 

"Fuck you, " Jisoo started, and of course, _of course_ , Lisa had to quip in:

"You just did." Warranting another hit from the previously discarded pillow. 

Jisoo was torn between strangling Lisa and kissing her, really. What would she do with this girl? 

"Did it work?" Lisa asked, and Jisoo had never been so mad at her own words.

"Oh, fuck me." Jisoo groaned, cursing out of habit than anything else. She saw Lisa's grin, and before Lisa could quip in (again), "Of course I was jealous! We were having this _thing,_ I don't even know what the thing is, then this boy appeared and kept getting all your attention." 

Lisa took the whisper in Jisoo's voice as the signal to sit upright and hug the girl. It worked, Jisoo hugged back. 

"I'm sorry. In retrospect, that was very childish. There are no excuses. I really wanted you to want me back." Lisa said, and although her face was plastered against Jisoos' chest, Jisoo heard her clearly. 

"I'm sorry too. The miscommunication was at fault from my end as well." Jisoo began prepping Lisa with crown kisses. "God, being jealous was so weird. I didn't even know if I had a right to be jealous." 

"You shouldn't be jealous. He's a pretty decent guy, who by the way, is head over heels for one of our classmates in Trig. I'm still going to be friends with him though, regardless of what happens tonight." 

"You should be, I never said me being jealous was a nice thing." A pause. "Don't ever do that again, though, the making me jealous thing. It didn't make me right in the head." 

"I think it's one of the worst decisions in my life, to be honest." Lisa removed her head from Jisoo's chest and looked up to face Jisoo in the eye. "I'm really, really, sorry." 

The sincerity of Lisa's words was enough to make Jisoo cry. "I'm sorry." Lisa wiped away the tears with her thumb pads immediately. "I don't think I have it in me to hurt you, you know. That would mean I would be hurting myself." Lisa was now peppering soft kisses on the tear trails. 

They stayed hugging, letting their mind calm down after their talk. They would've stayed hugging, but Jisoo was starting to feel cold and Lisa already felt Jisoo shiver before Jisoo could verbalized it. 

"We need some shirts on." Lisa whispered, urging Jisoo to move. 

They settled in back the bed, snuggling against each other, face to face. Jisoo was playing with Lisa's hands, and Lisa was drifting off to sleep.

"It's a yes, by the way." 

Lisa cracked open one eye; confusion evident in her facial features. "Huh?"

"The girlfriend thing. Yes."

"Are you sure? I don't want to rush you, my offer would still be on the table when we wake up, it'll probably be on the table for forever." Lisa asked, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. "Awe your eyes look puffy now. Are you okay?"

"I don't think we rushed into this. I'll still say yes when we wake up, and probably say yes to you forever." Jisoo said, and really, the vulnerability was a nice feeling. Probably because it was with Lisa, who thought that she was star-stuff amazing.

"And yeah, I'm Jisoo, I'm okay." 


End file.
